Ships were moving through the Suez Canal again a day after tugs refloated the Ever Given container carrier, which had blocked the passage for almost a week.
The gains appeared to stabilize the market that had slumped from early this month, when prices hit their highest levels this year on expectations for demand recovery.
Taiwan's export orders are a leading indicator of demand for Asia's exports and for hi-tech gadgets, and typically lead actual exports by two to three months.
In other parts of the world, Brazil registered its second deadliest day in its COVID-19 pandemic, with 2,724 deaths, while India on Friday reported its highest daily increase of new COVID-19 cases in more than three months.