The nation’s manufacturers and service providers turned increasingly conservative about their business prospects in the coming six months as external demand for electronic products rebounded slightly and the service sector saw business volume dipping last month, a survey by a local economic think tank showed yesterday.
The survey, conducted by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台經院), on a monthly basis, put the climate gauge for the manufacturing sector at 118.89 points last month, up 2.09 points from 116.8 in July.
Chen Miao (陳淼), director of TIER’s macroeconomic forecasting division, said the latest data showed a modest and steady pickup in demand for electronic machines and components, although the global economy remained weak.
Trade with emerging markets gained stronger momentum when compared with major economies, the institute’s report said.
Against this backdrop, domestic makers with an upbeat sentiment about the coming six months slid to 24.6 percent last month, from 37.8 percent a month earlier, while the number of their pessimistic counterparts climbed to 17.5 percent, from 17 percent, the survey said.
The number of firms with neutral sentiment increased from 45.2 percent to 57.8 percent during the same period, the survey said.
Chen said the change in sentiment fell in line with poor visibility of the economic landscape at home and overseas.
The business climate for the service sector shed 1.62 points to 121.22 last month as the recession continued to check consumer spending, the survey said.
Although the aggregate retail, wholesale and dining turnover edged up 0.26 percent last month, rising food costs caused by Typhoon Morakot weakened profitability for restaurants and cast a shadow on their business outlook, the survey said.
Also, the TAIEX dropped 3.56 percent last month, while daily trade volume slumped 23.76 percent, significantly dampening profits for brokerages, the survey said.
While banks reported improving wealth management revenues, the decline in interest and fee incomes persisted because of a low-interest policy, the survey said.
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