TAIPEI : Taiwan's export orders in February shrank for a sixth straight month, though at a slower pace, dragged down by China and as global demand continued to be squeezed by inflation and interest rate hikes.
"Export orders in February missed expectations mainly because demand for consumer electronics was far less than expected ... mainly because electronics and telecom products did not meet expectations," the ministry said. However, that would be offset by demand for emerging technologies such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cloud data centres and automotive electronics, it added.
Most economists now expect Taiwan's central bank to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at its quarterly rate-setting meeting on Thursday.