Overseas shipments rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, the smallest increase in three months, after climbing 5.5 percent in April, the Ministry of Finance said in Taipei yesterday. That was less than the median estimate for a 5.7 percent gain in a Bloomberg News survey of nine economists.

A U.S. economic slowdown has damped demand for Taiwan’s electronics, swelling stockpiles of semiconductors and liquid-crystal display panels. High Tech Computer Corp. Wednesday said sales declined in May, and AU Optronics Corp. posted a loss in the first quarter after prices fell because of a glut of LCD screens used in televisions.

“We don’t expect any quick turnaround in global electronics demand,” said Mingchun Sun, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong.

Overseas shipments make up about half of Taiwan’s economy and electronics such as semiconductors and flat panels are the island’s top exports.

Imports into Taiwan fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier, after rising 11.8 percent in April. Economists expected a 2.3 percent increase. The island’s overall trade surplus was US$1.39 billion in May, yesterday’s report showed.

The figures were released after close of trading on the island’s stock exchange. The Taiex index rose 0.5 percent to 8355.26. Taiwan’s dollar was little changed at NT$33.032 against the U.S. dollar.

Exports to the U.S. dropped 6.6 percent in May after declining 6.1 percent in April, yesterday’s report showed. Those to Japan fell 3.1 percent last month after gaining 1 percent.

Exports to Hong Kong and China increased 5.2 percent last month after climbing 7.7 percent in April. Goods are shipped through Hong Kong because of restrictions on trade and transportation between Taiwan and mainland China.

Taiwan’s shipments to China, its largest market, may have grown at a slower pace in May as some Chinese importers postponed their purchases ahead of an import tariff cut. China’s Ministry of Finance raised export taxes on 142 products and lowered tariffs on 209 types of imports into China from June 1.

Taiwan and other Asian economies such as South Korea and Japan have relied on China to help them weather weaker demand from the U.S. Japan’s shipments to the U.S. fell for the first time in two years in April, while Japan’s exports to China and Europe increased, according to a report on May 24.

The U.S. economy expanded an annualized 0.6 percent rate in the first quarter, the slowest in four years. Still, recent reports in the U.S. show business spending may be rebounding and leaner stockpiles have prompted factories to increase production, suggesting economic growth may rebound.

Sales at Taiwan’s High Tech Computer, the world’s largest maker of handsets using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system, fell 4.1 percent in May to NT$7.99 billion from a year earlier.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest supplier of made-to-order chips, said last month that sales fell 17 percent in April from a year ago, the sixth straight decline.

The island’s exports of computer chips and other electronic parts dropped 2.3 percent last month after expanding 2.1 percent in April. Overseas shipments of information technology and telecommunications products decreased 15.1 percent in May after a 9 percent decline the previous month.

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