Taiwan Industrial Output Shrinks Further; Retail Sales Growth Eases

(RTTNews) - Taiwan's industrial production continued to fall in December, and at a faster pace, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Tuesday.

Separate official data showed that retail sales growth moderated markedly at the end of the final quarter.

Industrial production fell 3.99 percent year-on-year in December, faster than the revised 2.05 percent decrease in the previous month.

Among the main sectors, mining and quarrying output declined the most, by 8.08 percent annually in December, followed by that of water supply segments with a 5.61 percent fall.

Data showed that the output produced in the manufacturing sector decreased by 4.19 percent in December, while electricity and gas supply production rose by 0.52 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, industrial production dropped a seasonally adjusted 2.29 percent from November, when it rose by 0.16 percent.

Another report from the statistical office showed that the annual retail sales growth eased sharply to 1.1 percent in December from 7.2 percent.

Sales of food, beverages, and tobacco in specialised stores alone rebounded 7.84 percent, while those of textiles and clothing in specialized stores plunged by 9.13 percent.