Taiwan’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in almost three years as global demand for artificial intelligence-related technologies fueled a boom in exports.
Gross domestic product grew 6.51% year-on-year to NT$5.46 trillion in the first quarter, according to a statement from the statistics bureau in Taipei on Tuesday, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021. That was stronger than the 6% increase economists had forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
“Strong Taiwan GDP mirrors the global tech cycle and exports from the Greater China region. This is in line with the manufacturing PMI figures from China mainland earlier Tuesday,” Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, said in a message. “This GDP figure is a reflection of the US economy.”
Taiwan’s economy is one of the main beneficiaries of a surge in global demand for the hardware underpinning AI technologies, such as semiconductors and servers. The better-than-expected growth prompted the statistics bureau to upgrade its full-year GDP forecast Tuesday, raising it to 3.57% from its previous estimate of 3.43% in February.
Taiwan’s exports surged 18.9% in March, the fastest pace in two years, as shipments of computers and related hardware needed for AI rocketed more than 400%.
In addition to exports, consumer spending was also a major contributor to the jump in growth, driven by a rebound in tourism, spending on food and beverages and surging transaction fees for stock-market trading, according to the bureau’s statement.
But the first quarter may be as good as it gets for a while. Economists and government statisticians say growth is likely to slow in the coming quarters, due in part to a higher base of comparison with last year’s figures.
In the past few weeks, chip giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel Corp. both offered tepid forecasts for semiconductors and the global smartphone and personal-computing markets.
The more pessimistic outlook triggered an exodus from Taiwanese stocks by foreign investors. Overseas money managers withdrew $4.9 billion from local shares in April as of Monday’s close, Bloomberg-compiled data show. That would be the biggest net outflow since October last year.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
