Consumer confidence weakens to 8-month low amid Trump fears

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer confidence weakened to a low in eight months in January amid concerns over the uncertainties for the global economy created by Donald Trump's return to the White House, National Central University (NCU) said Monday.

Citing a survey conducted from Jan. 18 to 21, NCU said the local consumer confidence index (CCI) fell 2.07 points from a month earlier to 72.54, the lowest level since May 2024, when it was 72.20.

The CCI gauges confidence in consumer prices, the local economic climate, the stock market, the likelihood of purchasing durable goods, employment prospects and family finances for the next six months.

The sub-indexes on the six factors all moved lower in January amid concerns over inflationary pressures in January and fears over the potential threat of tariffs by Trump as he prepared to take office, according to NCU Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development director Dachrahn Wu (吳大任).

Among the CCI's six factors, the sub-index on consumer prices reported the steepest fall of 3.98 points from a month earlier to 37.25 in January.

Wu said consumers felt the pinch of higher prices at the time of the survey as vendors were raising prices ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in the last week of January in anticipation of strong demand for their products.

The sub-index for the stock market also fell sharply by 2.46 points from a month earlier to 50.53 in January as investors were aware of Trump's tariff threats on chips, Wu said.

The sub-indexes on employment, family finances, the local economic climate and purchases of durable goods fell 2.02, 1.88, 1.86 and 0.17 points, respectively, from a month earlier to 75.61, 82.54, 86.84 and 102.49 in January, the survey found.

In NCU surveys, a CCI sub-index score of 0-100 indicates pessimism, while a score of 100-200 shows optimism, the university said, noting that the only factor that showed optimism in January was the likelihood of purchasing durable goods over the next six months.

Trump's actions in recent days to impose 25 percent tariffs on many goods made in Canada and Mexico and 10 percent on goods made in China and threaten to tax semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and metal imports confirmed the concerns seen in the survey.

The moves sent ripples through financial markets in Asia on Monday, and with export-oriented Taiwan highly dependent on the United States economically, Wu said he expected market sentiment to stay weak over the next few months.

Also in January, another NCU survey conducted jointly with Taiwan Realty showed a month-on-month rise of 0.13 points in the index for home buying, which stood at 99.97.

Wu said although the local housing market stayed in consolidation, some investors were still considering properties with relatively good conditions, which lent support to the confidence in the home market.

The university's CCI survey in January collected 3,032 questionnaires from consumers in Taiwan aged 20 and over. It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.