The consumer confidence index (CCI) this month dropped 1.22 points to 60, the lowest it has been in 13 years and two months, as people grew gloomier about the economy, spending and stock investments, a survey by the National Central University showed yesterday.
The sentiment gauge shed 13.33 points from a year earlier, as global inflation and monetary tightening took a toll on demand for Taiwanese exports, said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducted the survey.
“Some manufacturers furloughed workers to cope with a business slowdown, while others suspended hiring to cut costs,” Wu said.
Photo: CNA
Major firms have said that the situation might not improve through the first half of next year, which explains why all constituent readings lost points, the monthly survey said.
The sub-index on the economic situation declined 1.8 points to 76.65, while the measure on household incomes faltered to 71.45, the lowest level in nine-and-a-half years, Wu said.
Confidence values of 100 and lower suggest pessimism, while scores above the threshold indicate optimism.
Three interest rate hikes this year by the central bank have increased the mortgage burden on home owners with monthly payments accounting for 50 percent of household incomes in Taipei and New Taipei City, government data showed.
The employment outlook sub-index lost 1.25 points, its worst score in 12 years and 10 months, as reports of unpaid leave weighed on the confidence of jobseekers, Wu said.
Stock investment confidence shrank by 0.2 points, despite the TAIEX rebounding 1,500 points this month, as individual investors prefered to stay on the sidelines amid market volatility, he said.
The reading on buying interest of durable goods, mainly real-estate properties, reported the biggest drop of 2.3 points, but printed above the neutral point at 102, the survey found.
Wu said the current quarter is the high season for the housing market, but the index softened 17 points over the past 12 months.
Taiwanese like to take shelter in real-estate during bad times, but pricing differences are dragging transactions, the economist said, adding that prospective buyers should wait for price corrections that could take place next year.
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