The consumer confidence index (CCI) this month rose slightly from last month, with five of the six subindices increasing, a report released yesterday by National Central University said.
The CCI edged up 2.99 points month-on-month to 66.66 — its second consecutive increase — while on an annual basis, the index rose 2.52 points, the report showed.
The report was based on a survey of 2,952 people aged 20 or older from across Taiwan, and was conducted between June 17 and Tuesday last week, the university said.
Photo: CNA
Five of the six subindices used to gauge the public’s confidence over the next six months moved upward, signaling improved sentiment toward consumer prices, household finances, the economic climate, job opportunities and stock investments.
People’s expectations regarding the performance of stocks in the near future climbed the most, increasing 17.3 points to 44.1, the report said.
About 18.1 percent of those polled said they would invest in stocks in the next six months, compared with 9.1 percent last month, while 74 percent said they would stay away from the market in the near term, down from 82.3 percent last month. Of the respondents, 7.9 percent were undecided about investing in stocks, down from 8.6 percent last month.
As a number of research institutes recently downgraded their GDP growth forecasts for Taiwan to below 2 percent for this year, the subindex on the economic climate increased the least among the five subindices, moving up 0.1 points to 80.6, the report said.
Only 6.8 percent of those polled were upbeat about the economic outlook over the next six months, down from 6.9 percent last month, while 41.2 percent were worried that the economy would continue to lose growth momentum in the near term, versus 41.3 percent a month earlier.
About 51.9 percent of the respondents maintained their view toward the economy this month, up from 51.5 percent last month.
Buying interest in durable goods over the next six months was the only subindex to drop, declining 0.3 points month-on-month to 109.7.
Of the respondents, 44.4 percent intended to purchase durable goods over the next six months and 27.3 percent said they would be cautious about buying, compared with 45.1 percent and 27.5 percent respectively last month.
While the confidence index rose this month, five of the subindices were still below 100 points, indicating that the public is relatively pessimistic about the next six months, the report said.
Whether public confidence has really bounced back requires further observation, it added.
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