Taiwan's exports in June beat forecasts to hit a record again

TAIPEI, July 8 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports surged by a third - far more than than expected - to a record level in June on robust demand for artificial intelligence-related products.

Exports jumped 33.7% from the same month a year ago to $53.3 billion, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, compared with a forecast of a 26% increase in a Reuters poll.

It was the second month in a row of record export levels.

June exports also benefited from customers bringing forward orders to hedge against the possibility of increased U.S. tariffs, the ministry said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has flagged a 32% import levy on goods from Taiwan under his global tariff regime. On Sunday, Trump pushed back the date for tariffs to go into effect from July 9 to August 1, giving more time for deals to be reached.

Taiwan companies such as TSMC 2330.TW, TSM.N, the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple AAPL.O, Nvidia NVDA.O and other tech giants.

For July, the ministry expects exports to rise between 15% and 20% year-on-year.

Last month, Taiwan's exports to the United States soared 90.9% year-on-year to $17.3 billion, while exports to China, the island's biggest trading partner, climbed 13.3%.

Taiwan's exports of electronic components increased 31.1% to a record $19.12 billion, with semiconductor exports up 32.9%.

Imports rose 17.3% to $41.3 billion, higher than economists' forecasts of 11.8%.