Business sentiment in the nation’s manufacturing sector last month turned cautious as many industries faced their annual slow seasons, according to a survey released by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday.
However, the service sector remained upbeat, as the retail and food and beverage segments benefited from strong consumer spending ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the institute said.
The survey showed that the manufacturing composite index fell 1.39 points from a month earlier to 100.04, ending three consecutive months of gains.
Beyond the slow season effects, the sector was also affected by a reduced number of working days in the month, the institute said.
Bucking the downturn in the manufacturing sector as a whole, the construction subindex rose 1.3 points from a month earlier to 87.64, its second consecutive month of growth, on the back of an increase in the number of property transactions last month, it added.
The survey showed that the composite index for the service sector rose 2.17 points from a month earlier to 91.44 last month, the second consecutive month of increase.
TIER Economic Forecasting Center director Gordon Sun (孫明德) said peak season effects during the Lunar New Year holiday boosted the sales of many retailers and restaurant operators.
Sentiment in the service sector was also lifted by gains on the nation’s stock market, as the TAIEX last month rose 2.1 percent on the back of ample liquidity, Sun said.
However, a quarterly survey released by JPMorgan Asset Management Taiwan Ltd (摩根資產管理) earlier this week indicated that investor confidence has weakened this quarter to the second-lowest level in history, weighed by worries over cross-strait ties, the domestic economic outlook and the investment climate.
The JPMorgan investor confidence gauge fell to 80.7 this quarter, from 81 three months earlier, even though Taiwanese investors are upbeat about the global economy and portfolio value gains in the next six months, the JPMorgan survey showed.
“The findings reflect a lack of confidence due to political and policy uncertainty,” JPMorgan Taiwan vice president Alex Chio (邱亮士) said.
The measures on cross-strait relations, investment environment and domestic economy shed points, more than neutralizing gains in the subindices of global economy, portfolio value and TAIEX outlook, according to the survey, which polled 3,947 people between Jan. 3 and Jan. 23.
The confidence trend ran counter to rallies in local shares and the New Taiwan dollar, which this year have gained 5.37 percent and 5.05 percent respectively, Taiwan Stock Exchange and central bank data showed.
Additional reporting by Crystal Hsu
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