Taiwan Trade Surplus Shrinks In June

(RTTNews) - Taiwan's foreign trade surplus decreased in June as imports grew faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance revealed on Tuesday.

The trade surplus shrank to $4.68 billion in June from $6.02 billion in the corresponding month last year. The surplus also declined from $6.05 billion in May.

Exports grew 23.5 percent year-over-year in June, which was much faster than the 3.5 percent rise in the prior month. Economists had forecast 11.45 percent growth.

Shipments of information, communication, and audio-video products jumped 114.1 percent annually in June, and those of machinery rose by 10.5 percent.

Imports surged 33.9 percent annually in June after a 0.6 percent slight increase in May. That was also well above the 15.0 percent rise expected by economists.