Taiwan’s economy last month posted steady growth for the fourth consecutive month, partly on the back of growing exports at a time of solid global demand, the National Development Council said yesterday.
Sales generated by the retail and wholesale sectors were also on the rise and business sentiment among Taiwanese manufacturers improved, which further bolstered the economy, the council said in a statement.
The composite index of monitoring indicators rose two points from a month earlier to 28, the highest level for this year, with six of the nine factors in the composite index moving higher, it said.
The three sub-indexes that moved lower last month were equity prices, industrial production and non-farm payrolls, the council said.
The leading indicator, which is used to gauge the economic outlook for the upcoming six-month period, fell 0.07 percent to 100.7, marking the sixth consecutive month that the indicator fell month-on-month.
However, the council said it is not worried about the fall, since the latest drop was narrowed from a 0.12 percent decline seen in April and became the smallest shrinkage so far this year, indicating that the local economy remained in expansion mode at a steady pace.
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
Meanwhile, the consumer confidence index (CCI) for this month moved lower, with sentiment toward the equity market weakening, a survey released yesterday by National Central University showed.
According to the survey, the CCI fell 1.79 points from a month earlier to 83.82, with all six sub-indexes declining and the sub-index on the stock market falling the sharpest.
The CCI fell for the third consecutive month to its lowest since October last year, when it stood at 83.34.
The survey, conducted from Tuesday to Saturday last week, collected 2,650 valid questionnaires from consumers aged at least 20. It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
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