Taiwan's foreign trade surplus increased in June from a year ago as imports fell faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance revealed on Friday.
The trade surplus climbed to $5.96 billion in June from $4.57 billion in the corresponding month last year. The surplus also grew from $4.89 billion in May.
Exports fell 23.4 percent year-over-year in June, which was worse than the 14.1 percent drop in May. Economists had forecast a 13.4 percent plunge.
Shipments of plastic and rubber and related articles declined the most, by 32.1 percent annually in June, and those of base metals and articles of base metal slid by 30.3 percent.
Machinery exports decreased 20.2 percent over the year, and outflows of parts for electronic products declined 21.3 percent.
Imports plummeted 29.9 percent annually in June after a 21.7 percent slump in May. That was much faster than the expected decrease of 16.7 percent.
