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Taiwan's Manufacturing PMI Hit 3-Month Low of 55.4 in August

2014/09/15 | By Judy Li

Taiwan's purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the manufacturing industry declined 3.1 from a month earlier to hit a three-month low of 55.4 in August, according to Taiwan's Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CHIER).

Among the five factors that constitute the manufacturing PMI, new orders from customers and production level both plummeted in the month, with the former down a monthly 7 and the latter 6.2. Likewise, the employment level shrank by 4.5 to 54.7 while the speed of supplier deliveries and inventories both saw slight rise.

C. S. Wu, president of CHIER, indicates that Europe will likely see economic growth turn positive from negative this year although it may experience slow economic recovery resulting from the geopolitical turmoil in East Europe as Russia has been stubborn to ease encroachment on the Ukraine.

Wu also expressed anxiety about Taiwan's petrochemical industry being impacted by the severe propylene gas blast in early August in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan. While hoping the government can help the city and its petrochemical industry recover, Wu foresees better business climate for the island and is cautiously optimistic about its economic performance in the second half. (JL)