Taiwan's export orders fell less in July on a year-on-year basis than at any time in the past nine months, another indication that the global economic slump may be easing. July export orders totaled US$28.614 billion, down 8.77 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, according to statistics released Monday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Export orders from China, including Hong Kong, totaled US$8.179 billion in July, representing year-on-year growth of 2.22 percent -- the first positive growth in orders from China since last July, the statistics showed. China was also the biggest source of export orders during the month, followed by the United States, which ordered US$6.22 billion worth of goods from Taiwan in July. That was 12.51 percent lower than in July 2008. Europe was the Taiwan's third largest market, placing orders of US$4.764 billion in July. Although the total represented a year-on-year drop of 14.56 percent, it was also the smallest drop in nine months, the MOEA said. MOEA Statistics Department Director General Huang Chi-shi expressed optimism over export orders in the third quarter, anticipating they will increase month-on-month and quarter-on-quarter. July export orders for basic metal products decreased US$620 million or 25.1 percent from the same month the previous year, as international raw material prices were higher in 2008, while orders for electronic goods fell 7.97 percent YoY in July by US$600 million, the statistics showed. Despite the global economic slowdown, July exports of precision instruments and electrical machinery grew compared to a year earlier by 17.39 percent and 12.74 percent, respectively, the MOEA said, attributing the growth to increasing demand from China. Export orders totaled US$168.577 billion in the first seven months of the year, a decline of 21.15 percent from the same period in 2008, according to the statistics. 