The consumer confidence index (CCI) this month shed 0.78 points to 66.73, with all six components weakening in line with a prevalent conservative sentiment, a survey released by National Central University said.
Though the retreat is small, poor exports pose a threat that would take a toll on the job market and private consumption, said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducted the survey.
Taiwan does not have much to do to reverse exports, which depend largely on when the US Federal Reserve would end its monetary tightening policy and allow global consumers to regain interest in technology products, Wu said.
Photo: CNA
The subindex on buying interest of durable goods, mainly real estate, recorded the biggest drop of 1.2 points to 110.2, the monthly survey showed.
The survey was conducted by interviewing 2,994 adults on the telephone from Sept. 17 to Wednesday last week.
Confidence readings of 100 or more suggest optimism and scores below the threshold indicate pessimism. According to the survey, interest in durable goods stayed strong despite a mild decline.
Taiwan’s private consumption has proved resilient, like the rest of the world in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, but the trend might not last long if exports remain weak, Wu said.
The government’s recent introduction of low interest rates of 1.775 percent for first-home purchases injected a vigor to the local property market, the survey showed.
Wu said that the measure on consumer price outlook edged down 0.9 points to 24.9, with most people expecting continued price hikes ahead.
Wu said that he is not particularly worried about inflationary pressures that have subsided significantly and it would return to the central bank’s 2 percent target next year.
The gauges on household incomes and stock investment dropped 0.75 points and 0.6 points to 74.95 and 44.9 respectively, as artificial intelligence interest cooled and related stocks went through drastic price corrections.
Public confidence on the nation’s economy in six months softened 0.75 points to 80, bucking the government’s projection for an economic recovery from next month onward.
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