The consumer confidence index rose 2.33 points to 69.06 this month, with all six components gaining value on the back of healthy domestic demand, a National Central University survey showed on Friday.
The index gauges the level of confidence people have about employment prospects, family finances, consumer prices, the economic climate, the stock market and durable goods purchases over the next six months.
The subindex on stock investment registered the biggest advance of 4.66 points to 49.56 as people displayed more confidence about risky assets, said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducted the survey.
Photo: CNA
The sentiment uptick came after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the largest supplier of chips used in Apple Inc’s iPhones and Nvidia Corp’s graphics processing units, disclosed better-than-expected earnings for last quarter and offered positive guidance for this quarter, Wu said.
However, the findings were in stark contrast with the TAIEX’s performance last week, as technology shares at home and abroad took a hard hit from Washington’s expanded bans on exports of advanced technology products and equipment to China due to national security concerns.
The survey was conducted from Oct. 18 to 21 ahead of the US announcement of the extended export bans, Wu said.
Taiwan’s exports last month expanded modestly after 12 straight months of contractions, lifting the subindices of household income, GDP growth and employment opportunities, he said.
The euphoria might be premature, as low comparison bases last year helped account for positive export figures last month, he said.
The Ministry of Finance said that exports this month might slip into negative territory, but would show sustained gains from next month.
Taiwan might need more time to emerge from the woods, as economic data remain unstable in the US, China and Europe, Wu said.
At the same time, people are feeling the pressure of inflation after bad weather pushed up fruit and vegetable prices, he said.
Durable goods consumption was the sole subindex with a robust value at 111, up 0.8 points from a month earlier as the government introduced favorable lending terms, boosting purchases of first homes, Wu said.
Confidence values of 100 or more suggest optimism and scores lower than the threshold indicate pessimism.
The survey garnered responses from 2,986 adults via telephone interviews.
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