TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s export orders likely rose in November for the 21st straight month, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, though at a much reduced rate due to supply chain issues and off last year’s high base.
The median forecast from a poll of 10 economists expects export orders to rise 5.8% from the year-ago period. Forecasts for growth ranged from 4% to 15.4%.
The island’s export orders, a bellwether of global technology demand, grew 14.6% year-on-year to $59.1 billion in October, weaker than expected due to supply problems in the tech sector, though the government said technology demand overall remained strong.
Taiwan’s export orders are a leading indicator of demand for hi-tech gadgets and Asia’s exports, and typically lead actual exports by two to three months.
Taiwan’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 such as Apple Inc.
The data for November will be released on Monday.
(Poll compiled by Devayani Sathyan, Md. Manzer Hussain and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
