The DGBAS, like all agencies that issue economic growth projections, updates its forecast for annual growth based on the latest variables, she said.
The world economic outlook has also been downgraded recently, and Taiwan is a small-scale open economy that is highly vulnerable to external factors, she told Lo.
During the interpellation session, she stressed that the forecast cuts do not mean the formula is imprecise.
In 2014, the agency’s forecast had been only 0.4 of a percentage point shy of the real GDP growth, she said.
The Ministry of Finance, which publishes monthly export figures, has said Taiwan’s economic downturn is driven mainly by sluggish exports amid rising Chinese competition and a slowdown in the growth of major economies.