TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports rose less than expected in April, hurt by weak demand from China although robust demand for artificial intelligence-related products had shipments to the United States surging to a record.
The Finance Ministry said it expects stable growth in exports for the first half of the year, adding demand created by new technologies reliant on AI and high-performance computing would offset the impact of high interest rates and geopolitical tensions on the global economy.
Exports climbed 4.3% from a year earlier to $37.5 billion, gaining for a sixth straight month, data showed on Wednesday.
That was below a forecast of 10.2% in a Reuters poll and an 18.9% gain in March.
The ministry predicted that exports in May could rise between 7% and 10% from a year earlier.
Exports to the United States leapt 81.6% to $10.2 billion, compared with a 65.7% surge in March. Taiwanese firms such as TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple, Nvidia and U.S. tech giants.
The value figure for exports to the U.S. was not too far off the $11.3 billion worth of exports to China. Shipments to China tumbled 11.3% in April from a year earlier versus the prior month's 1.3% drop.
Taiwan's total shipments of electronic components fell 17.7% in April from a year earlier to $12.95 billion, with semiconductor exports sliding 18.8%.
Taiwan's imports rose 6.6% to $31.0 billion in April. That compared with economists' forecasts for a 7.6% gain.
(Reporting by Faith Hung and Emily Chan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
