SLOWING MODERATELY: Export orders rose to the most for the month of September, but the amount was lower than the range forecast by the Ministry of Economic Affairs

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 23, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s export orders last month continued to rise and set new records, but the level fell short of previous forecasts, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

Export orders rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to US$47.86 billion, the highest level for the month of September, but the amount was lower than the US$48.2 billion to US$49.2 billion range forecast by the ministry a month ago.

The annual pace of increase was also lower than DBS Bank Ltd’s 6.7 percent growth forecast and weaker than the 7.1 percent increase recorded in August.

The launch of major smartphones and wearable devices continued to drive export orders throughout the supply chain, while emerging technology trends including artificial intelligence have helped offset cooling demand for products used for cryptocurrency mining, Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) said.
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