Taiwan's export growth eased at a slower-than-expected pace in July, while imports rose at a faster pace, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance revealed on Monday.
Exports climbed 14.2 percent year-over-year in July, following a 15.2 percent gain in the previous month. Economists had forecast the growth to slow to 11.65 percent.
Exports of mineral products logged the sharpest growth of 123.4 percent annually in July. This was followed by a 16.9 percent increase in machinery shipments.
On the other hand, annual growth in imports accelerated slightly to 19.4 percent in July from 19.2 percent in June. In contrast, the growth was expected to moderate to 15.85 percent.
The trade surplus for July was $5.03 billion versus $4.64 billion in June. The expected surplus was $4.49 billion.
