All indicators show that the global economy has begun to bottom out since July and August this year and that growth, rather than decline, is expected from the beginning of next year, the bureau said in an analysis.

The dynamic of Taiwan's export trade -- the prime mover of the country's economic growth -- is expected to pick up steam soon after the economic prospects of the world's key players, including the United States, Japan and the European Union, turn for the better, according to the report.

The global economic crunch has begun to recover since July and August, thanks to strong rebounds in China and India, plus stimulus packages put forth by various countries with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The BOFT analysis quotes the latest Global Insight Inc.

report as forecasting that the global economy will decline by 2.4 percent in 2009, but will show positive growth of 2.3 percent in 2010.

In comparison, the Economist Intelligence Unit has forecast that the global economy will dwindle by 1.7 percent this year, but will expand by 2.3 percent next year.

The BOFT report attributes the Taiwan bourse's advance in the recent two months -- breaking the 7,000 mark -- in part to the recovering global economy.

As for the country's performance in foreign trade during the period, bureau officials said Taiwan seems to be "accumulating energy" -- with both export and import volumes declining substantially while the trade surplus continues to grow.

The bureau's latest tallies indicate that Taiwan's two-way trade amounted to US$230 billion in the first eight months of this year, marking a year-on-year decline of 35.6 percent.

Of the total, the export trade amounted to US$124.76 billion, down 31.7 percent, while the import trade totaled US$105.25 billion, down 39.8 percent.

As a result, Taiwan posted a trade surplus of US$19.5 billion in the first eight months of this year, marking a whopping year-on-year growth of 150 percent.

On when exactly Taiwan's export trade will recover its former dynamics, the report said it will depend on the prospects of the global economy.

For example, it analyzed, new construction of houses and apartments in the United States remained high in July, albeit lower than in June, which was a peak since November 2008.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Index climbed to 52.9 points in August, marking the first positive figure in 19 months.

Meanwhile, the Manufacturing Index in the euro-zone soared to 48.2 points from July's 46.3 points, marking a 14-month high and indicating that European manufacturers have begun to rebound from the worst economic situation in 60 years, the BOFT report says.

In Japan, government statistics show that the country's economic growth turned positive for the second quarter of this year for the first time in five quarters, according to the report.