Taiwan edges up GDP growth forecast

TAIPEI: Taiwan slightly raised its 2018 economic growth forecast to 2.69 percent from 2.6 percent on Friday, after reporting second-quarter growth that was slightly better than estimated earlier.

Second-quarter GDP growth was revised to 3.3 percent from the same period a year earlier, compared with a preliminary 3.29 percent, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said in a statement.

The trade-reliant economy expanded 3.1 percent in the first quarter, revised data showed.

The government forecast that exports would grow 6.39 percent in 2018, slightly higher than a previous forecast of 6.36 percent. That compared with a 13.2 percent expansion in 2017.It also nudged up its inflation estimate for 2018 to 1.52 percent from 1.49 percent previously.