Consumer confidence edged up this month as people showed a little more optimism over the economy and purchases of durable goods, although they were gloomy over jobs and stock investment, a National Central University survey showed yesterday.
The consumer confidence index was 71.33, up 1.9 points from last month, driven by improving sentiment over the economic outlook, household income and purchases of durable goods, the survey showed.
“Taiwanese recovered some confidence over the economy because Taiwan has fared better than other nations in containing COVID-19,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducts the survey.
Domestic tourism has been boosted as overseas travel is highly restricted, shoring up business for retailers, hotels, restaurants and recreation facilities, Wu said.
Robust consumer activity helped offset the pain amid the pandemic, with demand for imported non-tech products rising, he said.
The sub-index on purchases of durable goods rose 12.8 points to 109, reflecting strong interest in buying vehicles and real estate, the survey showed.
Scores larger than 100 suggest confidence and values smaller than the threshold indicate pessimism.
The readings for household income and the economy gained 2.5 points and 2.2 points respectively from last month, the survey showed.
Taiwanese have neutral views about consumer prices in the next six months, while confidence in stock investments eroded further, with the sub-index shedding 4.1 points to 40, it said.
Rallies in the TAIEX and wild market volatility prompted investors to cash out and stay on the sidelines, Wu said.
The job-hunting outlook fell 2 points to 71.3, as people expect more difficulty in finding work, he said.
The survey polled 2,838 adults by telephone from Tuesday to Saturday last week. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
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