Jan export orders 19.3 yy vs 25.0 poll forecast
Export orders from China 45.9 yy vs 37.7 in Dec
Ministry sees Feb orders between 6.9 and 10.8 yy
Outlook affected by considerable global economic headwinds

TAIPEI, Feb 20 Reuters Taiwan39;s export orders in January contracted from a year earlier for a fifth month in a row, though at a slower pace, hit by a continued slump in Chinese demand and weaker global consumer spending due to inflation and interest rate rises.

The island39;s export orders, a bellwether for global technology demand, had been 19.3 lower than a year before at 47.51 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday. That beat analysts39; expectations for a 25.0 decline.

January39;s drop followed December39;s 23.2 annual fall, with last month39;s orders also affected by the long Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in January in both Taiwan and China.

However, orders for telecoms products rose 9.8 from a year earlier the strongest rise since last June thanks to an improving supply chain situation in China, the ministry said.

Orders for electronic products fell 21.8, though the decline was offset by demand for chips for highperformance computing and automobiles, it added.

Huang Yuling, director of the ministry39;s statistics agency, told reporters that 70 of more than 2,000 companies it had surveyed had seen no effect from the end of China39;s pandemic controls, because demand in the general environment remained weak.

While semiconductor…