WASHINGTON, DC — Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached their highest point of the year in November, giving reason for optimism that the market might be turning around.

The Semiconductor Industry Association reported that the 90-day moving average sales reached $25.73 billion in November, up 2% sequentially and year-over-year. It was the global industry’s first year-over-year gain of 2012.

Regionally, the Americas posted its largest year-over-year increase (9.7%) since April 2011. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.

“The global semiconductor industry navigated difficult macroeconomic conditions in 2012, but encouraging growth led by the Americas in recent months has the industry pointed in the right direction heading into 2013,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, SIA. “To ensure that the industry’s momentum continues, Congress should remove ongoing economic uncertainty by enacting long-term, reliable fiscal policies that boost America’s economic strength and global competitiveness.”

Regionally, sequential monthly sales increased in the Americas (5.1%), Asia Pacific (2.7%) and Europe (0.4%), but decreased 3.4% in Japan. In the Americas, combined sales from September through November grew 20.2% compared to sales from June through August, marking the region’s largest increase on a three-month moving average in the last decade.

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