Taiwan exports fall 3.8 pct in May

Taiwan's exports fell 3.8 percent in May from a year ago due to weak global economic recovery, surplus electronics inventory and low global oil and steel prices, local finance authorities announced on Monday.

Exports fell to 25.6 billion U.S. dollars in May, while imports lost 5.4 percent to hit 20.2 billion U.S. dollars, a surplus of 5.42 billion U.S. dollars in the month.

For the first five months, exports dipped 5.7 percent from the previous year to 119.4 billion U.S. dollars, while imports dropped 14.7 percent year on year to 95.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The data, however, showed a narrowed decline in May because of lower global oil prices and increased working days.

The Chinese mainland remained Taiwan's largest trading partner, accounting for 25.7 percent of exports, and 18.9 percent of imports. Endi