Taiwan Industrial Production Growth Eases, Retail Sales Rise Further

(RTTNews) - Taiwan's industrial production expanded at the weakest pace in ten months in January, while retail sales grew for the third successive month, separate reports from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Tuesday.

Industrial production advanced 5.07 percent yearly in January, much slower than the 19.76 percent growth in December.

Further, the latest rate of growth was the weakest since March 2024, when production had risen 4.79 percent.

Among the main sectors, the annual growth of manufacturing output eased to 5.29 percent from 20.68 percent, while mining and quarrying production showed a slump of 14.22 percent. Data showed that the electricity and gas supply segment logged a marginal expansion of 1.22 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, industrial production dropped seasonally adjusted 3.66 percent from November, when it rose by 3.71 percent.

Another report from the statistical office showed that annual retail sales growth improved to 5.3 percent in January from a 2.9 percent rise in the prior month.

Sales at general merchandise stores grew 15.11 percent from last year, and demand for food, beverages, and tobacco in specialized stores rose by 8.49 percent.