Domestic commercial sales reached their highest level in 11 months last month as the economy emerges from its severe slump, despite a mixed performance across sectors, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a report on Tuesday.
Domestic trade — including the retail, wholesale and restaurant sectors — totaled NT$1.087 trillion (US$34 billion) last month, down 2.12 percent from a year earlier but up 0.3 percent from the previous month, the report released on the ministry’s Web site said.
Last month’s sales marked the highest since September last year, when domestic trade was NT$1.09 trillion, the ministry’s data showed.
The latest data showed that, among domestic commercial sectors, sales in the retail sector registered the biggest annual increase of 4.58 percent to NT$277 billion.
Retail sales last month were mainly boosted by transportation related items, the ministry said. Excluding these transportation items, led by an increase of 57.41 percent in sales of automobiles, motorbikes and auto parts/accessories, retail sales were up only 0.27 percent year-on-year.
Companies in the wholesale sector, meanwhile, saw sales decline 4.32 percent year-on-year to NT$782.1 billion last month, and those in the restaurant sector fell 1.42 percent to NT$27.5 billion, the report said.
In the first eight months of the year, total domestic trade amounted to NT$8.12 trillion, down 8.82 percent from the same period last year, the report showed.
Tine Olsen, a Sydney-based economist at Moody’s Economy.com, said the recovery in domestic consumption was not as strong as expected, because the monthly increase of 0.3 percent in domestic trade last month was slower than a rise of 3.07 percent in the previous month.
Her concern was backed by the softened growth in both wholesale trade and retail sales last month. Based on the ministry’s report, wholesale trade expanded 0.35 percent month-on-month last month after advancing 2.61 percent in July, while retail sales saw almost no monthly growth last month after jumping 4.66 percent in the previous month.
“Domestic trade in Taiwan is not projected to show solid improvements until the labor market stabilizes further, and the global recovery gives the export-oriented industries more solid ground under their feet,” Olsen wrote in an e-mailed statement.
On Tuesday, the government’s statistics bureau also reported the unemployment rate surged to a record 6.13 percent last month.
Retail sales showed a second month of annual growth registering 4.58 percent last month after advancing 1.28 percent in July, hinting that the rising unemployment rate seemed not to make a marked impact on consumer spending.
“If it is a pattern — that sales from supermarkets are growing while sales from department stores are contracting, Taiwanese consumers may be changing their spending patterns to be more frugal,” Olsen wrote in the statement.
According to the ministry’s report, supermarkets saw sales grow 6.29 percent year-on-year to NT$12.3 billion last month, after rising 0.56 percent to NT$10.7 billion in July.
Sales at department stores, meanwhile, dropped 0.71 percent year-on-year to NT$17.2 billion, after rising 3.43 percent to NT$17.1 billion in July, the data showed.
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS