Taiwan July export orders beat forecasts on AI chip demand; orders from China flat

By Faith Hung and Jeanny Kao

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's export orders rose more than expected in July as demand for chips used in artificial intelligence applications continued to soar and the government said it expects the momentum to extend into August.

Export orders last month jumped 4.8% to $50.03 billion from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday. That beat the 2.6% gain forecast in a Reuters poll, and exceeded June's 3.1% expansion.

Orders for goods from Taiwan, home to tech giants such as chip manufacturer TSMC, are a bellwether of global technology demand.

"The stronger-than-expected orders were mainly because of robust demand for high-speed computing and preparations for new consumer electronic products," the ministry said, adding these would support orders growth in the second half of the year.

Taiwan's orders in July for telecommunication products increased 11.0% from the prior year, while electronic products rose 2.2% from a year earlier.

Overall orders from China edged down 0.1% versus a 3.5% rise in the prior month. Orders from the United States jumped 14.3%, higher than a 3.7% gain in June.

The ministry said it expects export orders in August will increase between 6.7% and 11.0% year-on-year.

Orders from Europe picked up 6.1% in July, after climbing 6.3% in June.

From Japan, orders climbed 2.4% last month, versus a fall of 9.2% in June.

(Reporting by Faith Hung and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Shounak Dasgupta)