Taiwan export orders down as global electronic demand slows

TAIPEI - Taiwan’s export orders contracted 8.3% y/y in August, compared with a 5.0% decrease in July and market expectations of a 4.7% decline. ANZ Bank says today’s figure mirrors a downturn in global electronic demand and depressed commodity prices.

Other than ICT production, which managed to grow 4.7% y/y on Window10 effects, orders for all other major products contracted. Electronics orders fell 8.1% y/y, mainly as demand for mobile devices moderated in Mainland China and LCD TV orders from Japan declined.
ICT growth was mainly driven by computer product upgrades. Orders from Mainland China and Hong Kong fell 14.8% y/y in August, led by a 26% drop in precision instruments. Orders from Europe, ASEAN and Japan also fell by 12.1%, 6.2% and 17.1% respectively. Demand from US grew marginally by 0.6% y/y.
ANZ says today’s data points to a possible contraction of GDP in Taiwan in Q3.  www.live.anz.com (ATI).