Export orders expanded by a weaker-than-expected pace of 0.3 percent year-on-year to US$42.68 billion last month, as demand for high-end notebook computers slowed, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The result represented a 0.7 percent contraction from the previous month’s US$42.96 billion, the ministry’s data showed, suggesting the ongoing recovery of the nation’s export-oriented economy is mild and fragile.
Export orders are an important economic barometer as they shed light on actual exports over a period of one to three months.
The data fell short of the ministry’s forecast of between US$43.5 billion and US$44.5 billion, or an annual growth rate of between 2.2 percent and 4.6 percent.
The ministry denied that sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone 7 models had slowed last month, saying that smartphone-related export orders remained strong.
“Soft orders for high-end notebook computers s subdued the growth in smartphones,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference.
Orders for precision instruments were also weaker than the government’s forecast, as a high base aided by a large order of flat panels in September slowed the sector’s performance last month, Lin said.
Lin said basic metals and machinery goods were the bright spots last month, thanks to improving average selling prices of steel and the rising orders for industrial automation equipment.
By destination, orders from China, Hong Kong, Europe and ASEAN all increased year-on-year last month supported by demand for electronics goods, as well as information and communications technology products, the data showed.
The US remained the largest export destination, but its orders fell by 1.3 percent year-on-year to US$12.95 billion last month, as demand for chemical products and electronic goods declined, the ministry said.
Although overall export orders missed the ministry’s forecast, the results marked the third consecutive month of annual growth this year, Lin said.
The ministry forecast that annual growth would continue this month, supported by sales of smartphones, notebooks and Internet of Things devices ahead of the Christmas shopping season.
The continued improvement in demand for flat panels and steel, as well as higher prices, would lend support to export orders this month, Lin said.
The lower base of US$40.76 billion recorded last year also increases the chances of a year-on-year increase, she added.
The ministry forecast that export orders this month would total between US$41.8 billion and US$42.8 billion, which would represent year-on-year growth of between 2.6 percent and 5 percent, Lin said.
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