UNEXPECTED: The increase was tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the outbreak disrupted work in China and delayed shipments, the vice president of CIER said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 02, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) held surprisingly strong at 53.1 last month, as inventory demand bolstered suppliers of electronics and optical products, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

However, firms were downbeat about business in the next six months, as the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading in Europe and the US, hurting demand for exports, the Taipei-based think tank said in a survey.

Last month’s PMI reading rose 0.4 percentage points from a month earlier, as firms in the electronics, transportation and biotechnology sectors reported an improvement in business, while those selling food products, machinery equipment and basic raw materials reported negative cyclical movements, it said.    [FULL  STORY]