November exports hit a record in value
Exports to US +182.3% y/y (prior month +144.3%)
Exports to China +16.5% y/y (prior month +3.2%)
December exports seen up 40%-45% y/y -ministry
Uncertainty of policy changes, geopolitical risks need monitoring, ministry says
Adds details, comments throughout
By Faith Hung and Roger Tung
TAIPEI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports grew more than expected and logged their fastest growth in 15-1/2 years in November, as worldwide demand for the island's chips and artificial intelligence $(AI)$ technology remained robust heading into the end of the year.
Taiwan's exports have had uninterrupted gains for over two years, jumping 56% in November from a year earlier to $64.05 billion for a 25th consecutive monthly gain, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, topping a 41.1% increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.
In November, exports hit a record amount in dollar terms and recorded their fastest growth since May 2010.
The strong showing came even though Taiwan's exports to the U.S. are subject to a 20% tariff, which Taipei is in talks to reduce, though semiconductors are at present excluded.
Taiwan's export momentum is expected to be buoyed both by the continued acceleration of AI and high-performance computing applications and the peak season of year-end shopping in Western markets, the ministry said in a statement.
Last month, the ministry said it expected 2025 exports to grow 30% year-on-year to $600 billion.
However, the global economic outlook remains highly uncertain, as U.S. tariff policies take shape and geopolitical risks linger, so there is a need for careful monitoring, the statement added.
Taiwanese companies like TSMC 2330.TW, TSM.N, the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Nvidia NVDA.O, Apple AAPL.O and other major tech firms.
For December, the ministry expects exports to rise between 40% and 45% from a year earlier.
In November, Taiwan's exports to the U.S. soared 182.3% from a year earlier to a record $24.418 billion, while exports to China climbed 16.5%.
Exports of electronic components rose 29.3% to $21.632 billion.
Imports rose 45% to $47.97 billion, besting economists' forecasts for an increase of 17.45%.
(Reporting by Faith Hung and Roger Tung; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Thomas Derpinghaus)
((faith.hung@thomsonreuters.com;))
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