FILE PHOTO: A man rides a motorbike near Kaohsiung Port, Taiwan August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
February 11, 2019
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s exports are expected to have contracted 2.93 percent in January from a year earlier, according to the median forecasts of 14 analysts polled by Reuters.
The trade-reliant island’s exports dropped 3 percent in December from a year earlier.
Taiwan is one of Asia’s major exporters, especially of technology goods, and its export trend is a key gauge of global demand for technology gadgets worldwide.
Taiwan’s annual inflation rate in January likely increased to 0.4 percent from a mild contraction of 0.05 percent the previous month, the poll showed.
Export orders in December had suffered their steepest fall in more than two and a half years, increasing concerns about global demand for the electronic gadgets pivotal for Taiwan’s economy.
(Poll compiled by Carol Lee; Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
