TAIPEI: Export orders rose 8.3 per cent year-on-year in August, trumping expectations of only 0.5 per cent growth. They had declined 3.45 per cent in July, and had been contracting for sixteen straight months, according to data from the economics ministry.
Before that long streak of declines, export orders were typically growing between 5 and 13 per cent in 2014. August’s reading suggests something of an upswing. There is no obvious reason for the increase, though it is encouraging given Taiwan’s importance in global manufacturing and recent sluggishness in global demand.
The most recent manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for the country – covering the August period – was also promising, with production rising at the fastest rate since last December.