Taiwan's export orders declined unexpectedly in April, data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Friday.
Export orders fell 5.5 percent year-on-year in April. Economists had expected an 8.3 percent growth.
Orders for optical, photographic, cinematographic apparatus declined 27.7 percent annually in April and those of information and communication products fell 21.5 percent.
Bookings for machinery decreased 11.6 percent. Orders for basic metals and articles thereof, and plastics and related articles fell by 8.8 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, export orders declined 17.2 percent in April.
