Taiwan posted a bigger current account surplus in the third quarter from a year earlier largely because of a rise in net exports (exports minus imports), central bank data showed yesterday.
The current account surplus was US$8.24 billion in the July-September quarter, up US$6.18 billion or an increase of 300 percent from the same period last year, the central bank said.
In the third quarter, exports fell 20.6 percent year-on-year to US$55.29 billion and imports plunged 28.5 percent to US$48.5 billion, which however resulted in a 273 percent increase in net exports to US$6.79 billion for the quarter, the data showed.
The third-quarter current account surplus was still 19.1 percent lower than the US$10.19 billion in the second quarter and less than Citigroup’s forecast of US$9.05 billion.
“A smaller trade surplus was the main reason for the narrower current account surplus. However, the third-quarter current account surplus remained high compared to past norms,” Citigroup said.
A country’s current account surplus indicates the aggregate sum of its balance of trade with other countries as well as net flows of the country’s services transactions and transfer payments. It hit a record quarterly high in the first quarter of US$12.64 billion, central bank tallies showed.
Exports and imports in the third quarter fell at a slower pace than in the previous quarter, because of stimulus programs adopted by various governments to help ease the global economic slowdown, the central bank said.
Meanwhile, the nation’s financial account showed a net inflow of US$6.51 billion in the third quarter, the most since the second quarter of 2004.
The figure was up from a net inflow of US$2.59 billion in the previous quarter and compared to a net outflow of US$6.38 billion a year earlier.
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