Taiwan said Thursday that exports, the major engine of its economy, in October fell 1.9 percent from a year ago to $26.53 billion, dragged by weak demand for mobile devices and oil products.
The decline dashed hopes that the export sector would continue gaining momentum after a rise in September broke a six-month string of falls.
The October shipments marked a decline of 2.4 percent from the previous month, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Sales of mobile devices and other telecommunications equipment dived 36.1 percent from a year ago to $1.22 billion, it said.
Shipments to China, including Hong Kong, totalled $10.53 billion last month, up 0.3 percent year on year, according to the ministry.
Shipments to Japan rose 2.2 percent to $1.66 billion, while exports to Southeast Asia rose 7.0 percent to $4.85 billion, it said.
Exports to the United States fell 9.5 percent year on year to $2.92 billion and those to debt-ridden Europe tumbled 11 percent to $2.53 billion.
Taiwan’s economy in the three months to September grew a lower-than-expected 1.02 percent year on year after shrinking 0.18 percent in the second quarter — the first contraction in nearly three years — due to weak exports.
Taiwan's October exports down 1.9%
