TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s export orders likely rose in April for the 26th straight month, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, supported by the pandemic-led demand for technology products, although global economic woes pulled down the pace of export growth.
The median forecast from a poll of 15 economists expects export orders to rise 8.3% from a year ago. Forecasts for growth ranged from 3.8% to as high as 14.4%.
The island’s export orders, a bellwether of global technology demand, rose 16.8% to $62.69 billion in March year-on-year, outperforming expectations and the highest figure for the month on record.
However, the government has predicted April orders will only grow between 1% and 3.8%, compared with the year-ago period, due to the Ukraine conflict and global supply bottlenecks.
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 April will be released on Friday.
(Poll compiled by Devayani Sathyan and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
