Taipei, Oct. 31 (CNA) Taiwan’s manufacturing sector remained in sluggish growth mode for the third consecutive month in September despite a slowing economic downturn, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said Tuesday.
TIER said its composite index gauging business sentiment in the local manufacturing sector rose 0.38 points from August to 11.10 in September, thanks in part to the drawdown of semiconductor inventory at local companies made possible by the release of new devices on the international market.
This put the index in the “yellow-blue” range on the think tank’s five-tier grading system, with red indicating overheating, yellow-red showing fast growth, green representing stable growth, yellow-blue signaling sluggish growth, and blue indicating contraction.
In September, Taiwanese exports regained momentum to register positive growth, and the annual decline in export orders and production index also shrank compared with August, TIER said.
Although soaring U.S. bond yields sent jitters through the local stock market, most major electronics makers and chemical companies surveyed in September were not concerned about the business climate, an indication of stable operating conditions, TIER added.
Compared with August, the manufacturing sector in the United States and China both showed improvements in September despite anemic worldwide end-user demand, TIER said.
Looking ahead, TIER said it was optimistic about a continued improvement in the local manufacturing sector’s performance in the fourth quarter, due to the marketing of new devices, strengthened demand for raw materials and a year-end holiday season shopping bump.
The Taipei-based think-tank, however, warned of the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict and rising crude oil prices.
Should new external crises emerge with crude oil prices remaining at high levels, it would increase further inflationary pressure on central banks across the world and prolong the current high interest rates, according to TIER.
