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.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
RSS