TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's export orders likely contracted for a second straight month in August, and at a similar pace from the previous month as global demand cools, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.
The median forecast from a poll of 13 economists was for export orders to fall 2% from a year earlier. Forecasts ranged from an expansion of 3.4% to a contraction of 3.7%.
The island's export orders, a bellwether of global technology demand, unexpectedly fell in July. Orders shrank 1.9% to $54.26 billion from a year-ago period, taking a larger-than-expected hit from weakening demand for technology and continued economic troubles in its largest market China.
The government has predicted last month's orders to be between 0.9% and 3.7% lower than those of August 2021.
Taiwan's export orders are a leading indicator of demand for hi-tech gadgets and Asian exports, and typically lead actual exports by two to three months.
The island's manufacturers, including the world's largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, are a key part of the global supply chain for technology giants including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The data for August will be released on Tuesday.
(Poll compiled by Anant Chandak, Devayani Sathyan and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)