Public confidence in the economy and employment outlook rose moderately this month, amid rising optimism on employment prospects and wage growth, a survey released yesterday by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed.
Indices measuring sentiments on economic growth and employment inched up this month after declining for two straight months, the survey showed, while the index measuring optimism on wage growth rose for the fifth consecutive month, reaching its highest since June 2015.
The brighter personal income outlook is expected to lend support to consumption, Cathay Financial said.
The survey showed that a majority, or 60.6 percent, of respondents expect the nation’s GDP to expand by more than 2 percent this year, with growth expectations averaging out at 2.07 percent.
Encouraged by the impressive growth in the final quarter of last year, with the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ (DGBAS) preliminary figures showing growth of 3.28 percent, research institutions have been raising their forecasts for economic growth this year, Cathay Financial said.
Respondents were also not overly worried about inflation this year, with 57.2 percent expecting the figure to exceed 1.1 percent and readings averaging out at 1.16 percent, slightly higher than the 0.96 percent forecast by the DGBAS.
Although respondents’ optimism toward equity investments rose for the second consecutive month, an index measuring their risk appetite dipped this month, jolted by the widening volatility in US stocks, the survey showed.
Cathay Financial said that while respondents remained optimistic about stocks, they have grown more cautious toward expanding their portfolios in the next six months.
As two-way movement in the Chinese yuan’s exchange rate is increasingly becoming the new norm, 56.6 percent of respondents expect the currency’s trading band to exceed 1 percent this year.
In addition, 46.7 percent expect the yuan to strengthen, vastly outnumbering the 9.9 percent holding a bearish outlook, according to the survey.
The survey also found that while 78.8 percent of respondents do not have yuan-denominated deposits, 21.4 percent said that they are willing to increase their position in the currency, compared with 6.1 percent that are planning to trim their exposure.
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