2009.01.0705:29:00UTC+00Taiwan's Central Bank Trims Key Interest Rate

Wednesday, Taiwan's central bank lowered its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 1.5% in an unscheduled meeting. The central bank lowered the interest for the sixth time since September 2008. The move was in reaction to a quicker than expected fall in exports.

The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said in a statement accompanying the monetary policy decision that falling exports and rising unemployment are severely affecting the domestic economy. The central bank noted that continuous rate cuts since September are expected to boost domestic demand.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Finance has showed that exports fell 41.9% year-on-year in December. The decrease was steeper than economists' forecast of a 30% fall.

The central bank also lowered the rate on accommodations with collateral to 1.875% and the rate on accommodations without collateral to 3.75%.

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