Manufacturing PMI rises for sixth straight monthBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month expanded for the sixth straight month, despite the Middle East conflict, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The impact has been particularly pronounced in chemical-related industries, where rising oil prices have rapidly filtered through production chains. Despite these pressures, demand tied to artificial intelligence and semiconductor supply chains remained robust, helping support overall manufacturing activity, Lien said. “If the geopolitical conflict proves brief, the overall economic impact should remain manageable,” he said. Separately, Taiwan’s non-manufacturing sector continued to grow steadily, with the non-manufacturing index rising 0.9 points to 54.3 last month — its 13th consecutive month of expansion, the institute said.
