TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Strong economic data for Taiwan has been offset slightly by a report suggesting the currency will likely weaken by the end of the first quarter next year because of overseas shipments decreasing.

Citing a Mizuho Bank and RBC Capital Markets forecast, Bloomberg said rises of 4% this month for the New Taiwan Dollar to 30.90 per U.S. dollar, would nevertheless lead to a slide landing at around 33 per U.S. dollar.

On Tuesday (Nov. 29) the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released economic data showing the economy grew in the third quarter by 4.01% compared to a year earlier. This was 0.09 percentage points under a previous forecast.

Private consumption overall for Taiwan is expected to grow by 3.29%. “As the domestic COVID-19 control restrictions are being eased, consumption is returning to normality,” DGBAS said, quoted by Bloomberg. “Growth also benefits from the improvement of employment and wage lift.”

Looking forward, DGBAS expects expansion of 2.75% for next year, down from an earlier forecast of 3.05%. This is because of a global slowdown in trade, partly led by the zero-COVID situation in China.

Also Tuesday, Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said inflation looked to be under control, with projections of 1.88% for 2023 and economic growth of 2.9%.