Taiwan’s economy returned to growth in the third quarter, expanding by a weaker than expected 1 per cent as subdued domestic demand outweighed a pickup in overseas orders for electronics.
Analysts had expected quarterly gross domestic product growth of 1.5 per cent, up from the 0.2 per cent contraction in the three months to June – the first quarterly contraction since 2009. Government economists blamed “frail domestic demand” for the disappointing headline figure in a statement accompanying the data.
The government also lowered its full-year growth forecasts to 1.05 per cent from 1.66 per cent, and its forecasts for next year to 3.09 per cent from 3.67 per cent, citing weak consumption and uncertainty over the outlook for export markets.