Consumer sentiment edged up this month as people displayed more confidence in job hunting, stock investment and purchases of durable goods, a National Central University survey showed yesterday.
The consumer confidence index added 1.08 points to reach 71.98, despite a cluster of COVID-19 infections, indicating that the public remains confident in the government’s virus control efforts.
“The findings surprised me somewhat, as people appeared unaffected by the infections at a Taoyuan hospital,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’ s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducted the telephone survey of 2,855 adults last week.
Photo: CNA
The outbreak is mild and seems to be under control, with no new cases reported for the past three days, Wu said.
The reading on consumer prices showed the biggest advance of 3.3 points to 44.45, and the gauge on stock investment increased 2.7 points to 41.3 as the TAIEX repeatedly broke records this month before corrections this week.
The subindex for the job market gained 1 point to 62.95, while durable goods consumption rose 0.4 points to 112.05, reflecting a strong interest in real estate.
However, confidence in the economy and household income was down slightly, with the subindices weakening by 0.6 points and 0.35 points to 84.3 and 86.8 respectively, the survey showed.
Separately, the government’s business climate monitor last month flashed “yellow-red,” the first signal toward a booming state in almost 10 years, as the nation’s economy is heating up, the National Development Council (NDC) said.
The “yellow-red” reading came after four straight months of “green” readings due to upturns in the local bourse, business sentiment and industrial production, while other barometers held steady in healthy territory, the council said.
“The data suggest that the economy is gathering traction, even though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose uncertainty abroad,” NDC research director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) told a media briefing.
The previous “yellow-red” signal was in February 2011.
Wu said she is cautiously optimistic about the landscape going forward, based on data such as a strong purchasing managers’ index, industrial production and export orders.
The council’s index of leading indicators, which aims to project the economic scene for the following six months, rose 1.07 percent to 107.33, with all subindices making gains, with the exception of new construction floor space.
The M1B narrow gauge of money supply surged 16.17 percent from a year earlier, reflecting a keen interest among investors in local equities.
The index of coincident indicators, which mirrors the current economic state, rose 1.11 percent to 104.96 on the back of better showings in all seven constituents: exports, manufacturing sales, electricity use, imports of capital equipment, wholesale revenue, retail revenue and hiring activity, the council said.
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