TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s export orders likely contracted for a second straight month in August, and at a similar pace from the previous month as global demand cools, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.
The median forecast from a poll of 13 economists was for export orders to fall 2% from a year earlier. Forecasts ranged from an expansion of 3.4% to a contraction of 3.7%.
The island’s export orders, a bellwether of global technology demand, unexpectedly fell in July. Orders shrank 1.9% to $54.26 billion from a year-ago period, taking a larger-than-expected hit from weakening demand for technology and continued economic troubles in its largest market China.
The government has predicted last month’s orders to be between 0.9% and 3.7% lower than those of August 2021.
Taiwan’s export orders are a leading indicator of demand for hi-tech gadgets and Asian exports, and typically lead actual exports by two to three months.
The island’s manufacturers, including the world’s largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, are a key part of the global supply chain for technology giants including Apple Inc.
The data for August will be released on Tuesday.
(Poll compiled by Anant Chandak, Devayani Sathyan and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
