EXPANDING MARKETS:China, Hong Kong, Europe and ASEAN orders rose due to demand for electronics and information and communications technology products

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 22, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

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.    [FULL  STORY]