Exports expanded by just 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier as the slowdown in mineral, chemical and plastic products almost muted robust demand for electronics, the Ministry of Finance said in a report yesterday.
Custom-cleared exports totaled US$26.9 billion last month, up a mere 0.7 percent from the year-ago level, even though electronics shipments gained 16.4 percent year-on-year to US$9.16 billion, the second-highest level in history, the report showed.
“Shipments of mineral, plastics and chemical products remained soft last month, dragging down overall exports by 3.3 percent, due mainly to falling oil prices,” head ministry statistics department director Yeh Maan-tzwu (葉滿足) said.
While oil prices are to remain low in the foreseeable future, the room for downward correction might taper off, as they are approaching production costs of US$80 a barrel, Yeh said.
Lower oil costs also weighed on the nation’s imports, which contracted 1.4 percent from a year earlier to US$22.28 billion last month, despite a 9.6 percent increase in capital equipment, the report indicated.
The latest export figures suggest a trade surplus of US$4.62 billion, widening from US$3.5 billion in September, the report showed.
Cumulative exports stood at US$230.58 billion for the first 10 months, a 2.8 percent increase over the same period last year, the report said.
Exports might continue to advance at a modest pace, Yeh said, as the Christmas season would boost demand for electronics, but ongoing oil price falls would hurt local petrochemical sectors.
Exports to the US gained 4.4 percent to US$3.07 billion last month on the back of information and telecommunications devices, the report said.
Shipments to China accelerated 5.5 percent to US$10.76 billion with electronics, information and communications products recording a double-digit increase in sales, the report showed.
However, shipments to Europe slumped 12.8 percent to US$2.37 billion last month as weak economic growth there weakened demand for Taiwan-made mineral and electronic products, the report said.
Exports to ASEAN markets also shrank 1.7 percent last month due mainly to a slowdown in mineral and metal products, according to the report.
For the first time in 24 years, Taiwan registered a trade surplus of US$50 million with South Korea last month, due to the competitive edge of local chipmakers, Yeh said.
However, Yeh called on local exporters to watch out for increasing competition from rivals in China, as the market is promoting localization of the tech supply chain.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said disappointing exports might drive the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged next month.
The foreign lender earlier predicted a rate hike in December.
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