TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports rose less than expected in April, hurt by weak demand from China although robust demand for artificial intelligence-related products had shipments to the United States surging to a record.
The Finance Ministry said it expects stable growth in exports for the first half of the year, adding demand created by new technologies reliant on AI and high-performance computing would offset the impact of high interest rates and geopolitical tensions on the global economy.
Exports climbed 4.3% from a year earlier to $37.5 billion, gaining for a sixth straight month, data showed on Wednesday.
That was below a forecast of 10.2% in a Reuters poll and an 18.9% gain in March.
The ministry predicted that exports in May could rise between 7% and 10% from a year earlier.
Exports to the United States leapt 81.6% to $10.2 billion, compared with a 65.7% surge in March. Taiwanese firms such as TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and U.S. tech giants.
The value figure for exports to the U.S. was not too far off the $11.3 billion worth of exports to China. Shipments to China tumbled 11.3% in April from a year earlier versus the prior month's 1.3% drop.
Taiwan's total shipments of electronic components fell 17.7% in April from a year earlier to $12.95 billion, with semiconductor exports sliding 18.8%.
Taiwan's imports rose 6.6% to $31.0 billion in April. That compared with economists' forecasts for a 7.6% gain.