Taiwan May exports drop again as China weighs; outlook stays dim (updated)

United Microelectronics

07/06/2023 09:51

(Recasts)

        * 
      May exports -14.1% y/y vs -14.4% forecast in Reuters poll
    

        * 
      Exports to China -19.4% y/y (previous month -22.0% y/y)
    

        * 
      Govt forecasts June exports to decline 14-16.5% y/y
    

        * 
      Outlook remains under pressure, pick up perhaps from Q3
    

  
       TAIPEI, June 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports fell for a
ninth consecutive month in May, although meeting expectations,
in a symptom of anaemic demand for the island's tech products
from China and global markets, with matters not expected to
improve until the third quarter.
    Exports last month were down 14.1% in value on the year, at
$36.13 billion, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. That was
slightly worse than an annual fall of 13.3% in April and in line
with a Reuters poll forecast for a 14.4% contraction.
    Taiwan's export-reliant economy contracted more than
expected in the first quarter, slipping into recession.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N37S0OH
    Total shipments of electronic components in May fell 9.9%
from the year before to $15.05 billion, with semiconductor
exports down 8.0%, the ministry said.
    The outlook remains dim, the ministry said, adding that it
expected June exports to shrink between 14% and 16.5% on year.
    A pick-up in exports may not occur until September at the
earliest or as late as November, it added.   
    Firms such as TSMC  2330.TW  TSM.N , the world's largest
contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple Inc  AAPL.O ,
Nvidia  NVDA.O  and other global tech giants, besides providing
chips for auto companies and lower-end consumer goods.
    United Microelectronics Corp  2303.TW , a smaller competitor
of TSMC's, reported on Tuesday that May sales dropped 23.1% on
the year.
    At $12.74 billion in May, Taiwan's exports to China were
down 19.4%, after the prior month's drop of 22.0% on an annual
basis.
    Earlier on Wednesday, China reported that its May exports   
 shrank much faster than expected as global demand faltered.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N37Z0P1 
    Taiwan's finance ministry has said global inflation and
monetary tightening in major economies would continue to crimp 
external demand, coupled with risks such as the war in Ukraine
and China-U.S. trade tension.
    Exports to the United States fell 3.5% in May, after
slumping an annual 10.3% in April.
    Taiwan's May imports, often seen as a leading indicator of
re-exports of finished products, fell 21.7% to $31.25 billion.
That compared with economists' forecast of a 20.8% decline and a
20.2% fall in April.

 (Reporting by Liang-sa Loh and Faith Hung; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
 ((faith.hung@thomsonreuters.com;))