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Economic indicators point to slowdown

The economy showed signs of slowing with the index of leading indicators for last month falling 0.1 percent to 146.7 points from August, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said yesterday.

In August, the index of leading indicators registered a revised 0.2 percent month-on-month increase, the CEPD said.

The index is used as a gauge for the economy's direction in the coming months.

"A slowing trend of the advance in the index of leading indicators signals some moderation in growth toward the year-end is likely," Cheng Cheng-mount (鄭貞茂) and Renee Chen (陳瑩若), economists at Citigroup Global Markets, said in a statement after the CEPD report.

Among the seven component indexes, only the export order index made a positive contribution, according to the CEPD.

The remaining indicators, including the manufacturing inventory index, real M1b money supply, floor area of building permits and stock price index, weighed down the composite index, it said.

Last month's index of coincident indicators, which tracks the current pace of economic activity, rose 0.1 percent month-on-month to 150.7 points, after posting a revised 0.5 percent rise in August, it said.

The total score of monitoring indicators for last month was 31 points, up from 30 points in August, flashing a fourth consecutive "green light," implying steady growth.

additional reporting by Kevin Chen
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