Taiwan’s exports fell in April at a slower pace than the month before, in a sign that the deep global slump in demand for electronics may be bottoming out.
(Bloomberg) — Taiwan’s exports fell in April at a slower pace than the month before, in a sign that the deep global slump in demand for electronics may be bottoming out.
Overseas shipments fell 13.3% in April from a year earlier to $36 billion, the Ministry of Finance said Monday. That was much better than the median estimate of a 19.4% decline in a Bloomberg survey of economists and an improvement from March’s 19.1% fall.
However, it still marked the eighth consecutive month of declines for exports, showing how much the global downturn has impacted the trade-dependent economy.
Imports dropped 20.2% last month from a year prior. That was slightly better than the median estimate of a 22.6% decline, but still the fastest pace since 2019. The trade surplus was $6.7 billion, the highest since October 2020.
While shipments to some of Taiwan’s most important trading partners continued to slump in April, the year-on-year declines in several cases were not as severe as in prior months. Exports to China and Hong Kong fell 22%, better than March’s 28.5% drop. Shipments to the US declined 10.3%, about half as severe as March’s decrease.
Weak overseas demand for semiconductors — the main driver of Taiwan’s exports — has contributed to a disappointing outlook for the chipmaking hub, alongside sluggish manufacturing activity and concerns about inflation.
Taiwan’s economy fell into a recession last quarter after gross domestic product fell 3.02% versus the same period a year ago.
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