Consumer confidence index on the rise

The consumer confidence index rose slightly this month from last month, ending a slide that had lasted seven months, according to a report released by National Central University yesterday.

The index edged up by 0.97 percentage points to 68.45 this month -- the highest level in the second half of this year, said report author Chu Yun-peng (朱雲鵬), who is the head of the university's Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development.

Despite the turnaround, four of the six sub-indices used to gauge the public's confidence over the next six months showed little declines, which indicated that consumers were still concerned about price fluctuations, the nation's economic outlook, job opportunities and their household finances.

People's expectations on stock performances in the near future showed the biggest climb, increasing 6.5 percentage points to 74.6.

The other sub-index showing a rise durable goods sales went up by 0.3 percentage points to 117.85.

Chu said although the confidence index was up, five of the sub-indices were still under 100 points, indicating the public was pessimistic about the economy's outlook for the next six months.

Shia Ben-chang (謝邦昌), professor of statistics and information science at Fu Jen Catholic University, said whether public confidence had really bounced back required further observation.