Taiwan's consumer confidence weakens to 11-month low

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer confidence weakened to an 11-month low in March as sentiment was affected by growing fears over a possible hike in electricity rates in April, according to National Central University (NCU).

Citing a survey conducted during March 18-21, NCU said on Thursday that the latest consumer confidence index (CCI) fell 0.73 points from a month earlier to 71.86, the lowest level since April 2024, when the CCI stood at 63.37.

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 March, the subindex on consumer prices fell 1.2 points from a month earlier, the steepest decline among the six factors, to 35.26. The subindex dropped to its lowest point since June 2024's 32.48.

NCU Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development Director Dachrahn Wu (吳大任) said many investors expected the state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) to begin raising electricity prices in April to cover its huge losses.

The market has widely expected many households will be affected by the upcoming electricity rate hike.

Wu said a move to raise power rates for households is expected to impose a direct impact on inflation and affect family finances.

An electricity rate assessment meeting was scheduled for Friday to finalize the electricity rate hike.

Other five factors in the March CCI also moved lower with the subindexes on durable goods purchases, family finances and the local economic climate down 0.8, 0.69 and 0.61, respectively, from a month earlier to 101.99, 81.94 and 86.8 in March, the survey found.

In addition, the subindexes on the stock market and employment moved lower by 0.59 and 0.53, respectively, from a month earlier to 49.89 and 75.25 in March, according to the survey.

Liu Ming-huan (劉明寰), head of the emerging market research center of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said Taiwan's local economy, which is likely to grow 3 percent or more this year, is facing uncertainties, including inflationary pressure, tariff threats by the Trump administration, and a weakening China economy.

Liu said recent volatility in the stock market amid foreign institutional sell-off hurt investors' sentiment to push down the subindex on the stock market to a low since April 2024, when the subindex stood at 24.65.

In NCU surveys, a CCI subindex 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 March was the likelihood of purchasing durable goods over the next six months.

Also in March, another NCU survey conducted jointly with Taiwan Realty showed a month-on-month fall of 0.31 points in the index for home buying, which dropped to 99.56, stopping a two-month rising streak.

The university's CCI survey in March collected 3,087 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.