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TAIPEI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A Taiwan institute lowered its 2016 real economic growth forecast for the island to only 0.52 percent on Wednesday, citing the weak global economy and the impact of Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
The latest estimate by the Institute of Economics of Academia Sinica was 1.22 percentage points lower than its projection at the end of 2015.
Taiwan's economy contracted 0.68 percent year-on-year in Q1. The growth forecasts for Q2, Q3 and Q4 are 1.14 percent, 1.01 percent and 0.57 percent respectively.
The island's exports contracted for the 16th consecutive month in May.The institute revised its forecast of real exports of goods and services for the whole year from a 2.69 percent growth to a 0.42 percent contraction, while imports growth forecast was lowered from 3.19 percent to 0.56 percent.
The unemployment rate in Taiwan is forecast to climb to 4.06 percent in 2016, with an average of 3.88 percent in the first five months, said the institute.
