By Faith Hung and Jeanny Kao

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s export orders rose more than expected in July as demand for chips used in artificial intelligence applications continued to soar. The government stated that it anticipates this momentum to extend into August.

Export orders last month jumped 4.8% to $50.03 billion from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. This figure surpassed the 2.6% gain forecast in a Reuters poll and exceeded June’s 3.1% expansion.

Orders for goods from Taiwan, which is home to tech giants like chip manufacturer TSMC, serve as a bellwether of global technology demand.

“The stronger-than-expected orders were mainly due to robust demand for high-speed computing and preparations for new consumer electronic products,” the ministry stated, adding that these factors would support growth in orders for the second half of the year.

In July, Taiwan’s orders for telecommunication products increased 11.0% from the prior year, while electronic products rose 2.2% year-over-year.

Overall orders from China edged down 0.1%, versus a 3.5% rise in the previous month. Orders from the United States jumped 14.3%, significantly higher than a 3.7% gain in June.

The ministry also projected that export orders in August would increase by between 6.7% and 11.0% year-on-year.

Orders from Europe rose 6.1% in July, following a 6.3% increase in June.

From Japan, orders climbed 2.4% last month, compared to a decline of 9.2% in June.