Exports last month grew at the fastest pace in five months, helped by a weaker currency and rising demand from China and Japan for the nation's electronics.
Export shipments rose 8.5 percent from a year earlier to US$16.2 billion after gaining 7.6 percent to US$15.86 billion in August, the Ministry of Finance reported yesterday.
Imports rose 9 percent to US$15.49 billion, compared with the 11.1 percent increase to US$15.43 billion in August, the ministry said. The resulting trade surplus stood at US$714.4 million last month, up from US$429.3 million a year ago, it added.
During the nine-month period to September, exports rose 6.9 percent to US$137.15 billion and imports increased 10.9 percent to US$135.21 billion, leaving a trade surplus of US$1.94 billion, down 69.5 percent from a year ago, according to the ministry.
The New Taiwan dollar fell 1.3 percent against the US dollar last month, making it the second-worst performer of 16 Asia-Pacific currencies tracked by Bloomberg. That's making Taiwanese goods cheaper overseas, helping local manufacturers compete.
South Korea, which like Taiwan counts electronics as its No. 1 export, saw its currency drop 0.2 percent in the same month.
A declining currency, which has fallen about 4.7 percent against its US counterpart this year, will help increase profits for Taiwan's technology exporters, Morgan Stanley said in an Oct. 4 research report.
"A pick-up in demand for electronics and robust demand from China and Japan helped sustain Taiwan's export growth," Hsu Kuo-chung (
Hsu said the nation may report a trade surplus this year of as much as US$3 billion, higher than the US$2.2 billion forecast released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics in August.
Taiwan's exports of computer chips and other electronic parts rose 15 percent to US$4.2 billion after increasing 15 percent in August. Exports of information-technology and telecommunications products fell 13 percent to US$845 million after sliding 11 percent in August.
Last month, exports to Hong Kong and China amounted to US$6.33 billion, or 39.1 percent of total exports, while exports to the US amounted to US$2.30 billion, or 14.2 percent.
Exports to Europe totalled US$1.88 billion or 11.6 percent, with shipments to Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries at US$2.28 billion or 14.1 percent.
Shipments to Japan increased 9 percent to US$12.4 billion after gaining 4.4 percent in the previous month, the ministry said.
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