TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's export orders likely contracted again in November, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, as global demand for the island's technology-related goods cools and at a faster clip than the previous month.
The median forecast from a poll of 18 economists was for export orders to fall 11.2% from a year earlier. Forecasts ranged for a contraction of between 6.26% and 20%.
Taiwan's export orders, a bellwether of global technology demand, fell 6.3% in October, dropping more severely than expected on weak consumer demand hit by inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes.
The government has predicted November's export orders to be between 14.5% and 17.6%, lower than those seen in the year-ago period.
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 November will be released on Tuesday.
(Poll compiled by Dhruvi Shah, Devayani Sathyan and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)