Last month's export orders broke record, rose by 16 percent

The nation's export orders last month rose to a record high US$30.49 billion, compared with US$29.72 billion in July, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The August figure represents a 16.32 percent increase from the same month a year earlier, compared with a 23.49 percent year-on-year rise in the preceding month, the ministry said.

Last month's orders from the US grew 3.77 percent from a year earlier, slowing from July's 6.51 percent increase, the ministry said. Orders from Japan stalled, rising just 0.9 percent after gaining 25.68 percent a month earlier.

Still, the total value of orders climbed to a record US$30.49 billion as demand from China and Europe surged. Huang Ji-shih (黃吉實), director of the ministry's statistics division, said growth from emerging markets would lift orders to US$31 billion in September.

"Although the US subprime problem has resulted in global credit tightening, emerging markets have gradually become a major contributor of growth," Huang said. "We're cautiously optimistic about orders from the US in the coming months."

China and Hong Kong combined placed 24.48 percent more orders than a year earlier in August, compared with July's 24.68 percent.

Orders from Europe rose 35.8 percent last month, accelerating from 32.48 percent in July, the ministry said.

In the first eight months of the year, Taiwan took in export orders worth US$219.78 billion, up 14.6 percent from the year-earlier period.

Separate government reports yesterday showed industrial production gained 10.21 percent last month after rising a revised 13.33 percent in July and the jobless rate rose to 4.09 percent last month from 4.03 percent in July.

Seasonally adjusted, the jobless rate was 3.87 percent last month, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said in a statement. The rate was 3.91 percent for the first eight month, down 0.01 percent from a year earlier.