Taiwan’s manufacturing activity slowed down in May. That’s the word from the Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) on Tuesday.
The purchasing managers index (PMI) for May was a positive 58.6, but that was a drop of 1.6 percentage points from last month. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing activity. All six major sectors covered by the PMI grew, especially the electronics and optoelectronics industries.
The head of CIER, Wu Chung-shu said though PMI growth has slowed, the global economy is recovering.
“The overall global economy is recovering but slowly. We hope to see some movement in the future. I think that we will do fine as long as we keep [the PMI] between 55 and 60 percent,” said Wu.
Wu said PMI growth may also be slow next month, but the economy will have a positive outlook if it remains above 55% for the rest of the year.