2023.06.0711:48:00UTC+00Taiwan Trade Surplus Grows To $4.89 Bln

Taiwan's trade surplus increased notably in May from a year ago, as exports fell much slower than imports, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance revealed on Wednesday.

The trade surplus climbed to $4.89 billion in May from $2.12 billion in the corresponding month last year. However, the surplus shrank from $6.71 billion in April.

Exports fell 14.1 percent year-over-year in May, which was worse than the 13.3 percent drop in April. Economists had forecast a 14.4 percent plunge.

Shipments of plastic and rubber and related articles declined the most, by 31.1 percent annually in May, and those of base metals and articles of base metal slid by 24.6 percent.

Machinery exports decreased 12.4 percent over the year, and outflows of parts of electronic products declined 9.9 percent.

Imports plummeted 21.7 percent annually in May after a 20.2 percent slump in April. That was faster than the expected decrease of 20.8 percent.