Taipei, June 2 -- A key manufacturing gauge in Taiwan hit nearly five-year high levels on the back of continued AI demand fuelling supply chain activity and boosting exports.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 61.4 in May, rising 1.1 points from a month earlier, according to Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), Focus Taiwan reported. This is the eighth consecutive month of expansion for the index and the highest since September 2021.

A PMI reading of above 50 is read as expansion, while below 50 is contraction.

The CIER attributed the expansion in manufacturing PMI to a robust growth in Taiwan's electronics and optical industry and its electrical and machinery equipment industry, the news report added.

The ...