The nation’s interest rates and currency values are expected to climb in the near future on the back of rising consumer prices and a weakening US dollar, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said yesterday, citing the latest Ifo World Economic Survey.
The German institute’s quarterly survey, which polled 1,107 experts from 120 economies, showed that respondents gave “satisfactory” assessments of Taiwan’s economic prospects for the second quarter.
RISING CURRENCY
“Most of the polled experts expected the New Taiwan dollar to keep rising against the US dollar over the next six months, while forecasting that the central bank would continue to raise policy interest rates amid higher inflation pressure,” Hsu Chih-hung (徐志宏), a council analyst, told a media briefing.
Overall business expectations for the coming six months in Taiwan remained “bullish,” with capital expenditure, exports, commodity prices and share prices expected to rise.
SLOWING GROWTH
The council said the survey showed the World Economic Climate indicator rose to 107.7 points in the second quarter from 106.8 in the previous quarter, marking the highest figure since September 2007.
The growth of the World Economic Climate indicator has started to slow, evidence that the overall momentum of global economic growth could contract in the next six months amid increased uncertainty, Hsu said.
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