Consumer confidence this month rose marginally to 71.6, as interest in buying real estate rose to a record high and offset confidence declines in the economy, stock investment and job hunting, a National Central University survey showed yesterday.
Although the 0.27-point increase in the consumer confidence index was insignificant, other categories recorded sharp changes, said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducts the survey.
The sub-index on purchases of durable goods gained 10.95 points to a high of 119.85, Wu said, attributing it to Taiwanese companies based in China reshoring their production lines.
Confidence scores larger than 100 indicate optimism and values below that threshold suggest pessimism.
Taiwan has also benefitted from capital flight from Hong Kong amid political and social unrest in the territory, Wu said.
Such funds previously favored Singapore as a destination, but Taiwan has caught up in popularity, thanks to its economic resiliency and quick control of COVID-19, Wu added.
Strong capital inflows have pushed the New Taiwan dollar above NT$29.5 against the US dollar, even though foreign institutional investors have continued to cut holdings in local shares, driving stock investment to a new low of 35.3, he said.
The poor sentiment on equities made sense after global exchanges put up strong rallies despite bleak economic showings, Wu said.
“The reading suggests average investors believe it is better to stay cautious and avoid the stock market in the near term,” he said.
The gauge on the job market outlook read 68.65, shedding 2.65 points to a decade low, the survey found.
San Gee (單驥), an economic professor emeritus at the university’s, said the finding was worrisome, as it bucked the retreat in official unemployment rates.
Assorted subsidy and relief programs allow companies to keep otherwise idle employees on the payroll and ease the jobless rates, San said.
However, many service-oriented sectors remain under pressure from business declines linked to the pandemic, he said.
The sub-index on household income weakened 0.3 points to 83.8, while the measure on the economic outlook dropped 1.85 points to 83, the survey said.
The survey polled 2,856 adults by telephone from Sept. 18 to Tuesday last week, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
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