Consumer confidence up in February after 4-month fall: Survey

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer confidence broke a four-month downward streak in February as most of the six factors in the month's consumer confidence index (CCI) moved higher from a month earlier, according to National Central University (NCU).

Citing its survey conducted Feb. 18-21, NCU said the CCI rose slightly by 0.05 points from a month earlier to 72.59 in February after a 2.07-point decline in January.

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

In February, the sub-index for the local economic climate rose 0.57 from a month earlier, the largest rise among the six factors, to 87.41.

The sub-indexes for three other factors -- the likelihood of purchasing durable goods, employment, and family finances -- also moved higher by 0.3, 0.17 and 0.09, respectively, to 102.79, 75.78 and 82.63, the survey found.

Bucking the upturn, the sub-indexes on the remaining two factors -- consumer prices and the stock market -- moved lower by 0.79 and 0.05, respectively, to 36.46 and 50.48, respectively, in February, according to the survey.

The sub-index on consumer prices dipped to the lowest since June 2024, when the sub-index stood at 32.48, while the sub-index on the stock market fell to its lowest since April 2024, when the sub-index saw a temporary one-month plunge to 24.65, according to survey data.

Commenting on the decline in confidence in consumer prices, NCU Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development director Dachrahn Wu (吳大任) said since increases in the costs of vegetables and fruit last year caused by typhoons, many consumers have felt the pinch of growing inflationary pressures.

In addition, Wu said, the government has hiked the minimum wage in recent years and electricity rates could be raised in April, meaning that a 2 percent rise in the consumer price index -- the standard level set by the central bank -- could become normal.

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 February was the likelihood of purchasing durable goods over the next six months.

Also in February, another NCU survey conducted jointly with Taiwan Realty showed a month-on-month rise of 0.31 points in the index for home buying, which stood at 100.28, climbing out of the pessimistic mood seen the previous two months.

Wu said the rebound in confidence in the home market came as funds gradually returned to the financial system following the Lunar New Year holiday, which eased the credit crunch and enabled home buyers to secure mortgages.

The university's CCI survey in February collected 3,051 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.