Taiwan Trade Surplus Grows In July

(RTTNews) - Taiwan's foreign trade surplus increased in July from a year ago as imports fell faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance revealed on Tuesday.

The trade surplus climbed to $8.48 billion in July from $4.99 billion in the corresponding month last year. The surplus also grew from $5.9 billion in June.

Exports fell 10.4 percent year-over-year in July, which was much slower than the 23.4 percent plunge in the prior month. Economists had forecast a 20.1 percent fall.

Shipments of plastic and rubber and related articles declined the most, by 28.8 percent annually in July, and those of base metals and articles of base metal slid by 28.1 percent.

Machinery exports decreased 22.1 percent over the year, while outflows of information, communication, and audio-video products showed sharp growth of 54.1 percent.

Imports plummeted 20.9 percent annually in July after a 29.9 percent slump in June. That was slower than the expected decrease of 25.0 percent.