Taiwan's consumer confidence weakens slightly in February

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer confidence weakened slightly in February as the six factors that make up the consumer confidence index (CCI) all fell, according to the results of a monthly survey released by National Central University (NCU) on Monday.

Citing the survey, conducted Feb. 18-21, NCU said the February CCI fell 0.58 points from a month earlier to 66.58.

The CCI measures sentiment over the next six months across six factors: consumer prices, the domestic economic climate, the stock market, durable goods purchases, employment prospects, and family finances.

The sub-index for durable goods purchases fell to 97.12 in February, down 1.08 from a month earlier, the steepest fall among the six factors, while the sub-index for the stock market also fell noticeably, by 1.06 to 28.46.

The sub-indexes for the local economic climate, family finances, employment and consumer prices edged lower by 0.44, 0.39, 0.28 and 0.23, respectively, from January to 83.25, 80.0, 73.52 and 37.11 in February.

According to NCU, sub-index scores between 0 and 100 indicate pessimism, while those between 100 and 200 reflect optimism.

Speaking with reporters, Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the NCU Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, said the fall in the February CCI was minor and that he would characterize the CCI as being relatively unchanged.

Commenting on the individual factors of the CCI, Wu said that while the local stock market had posted strong gains prior to the survey, the stock sub-index still moved lower, indicating that many investors were afraid of possible technical corrections.

Wu argued, however, that many investors remained confident about market movements over the longer term and were willing to buy after a pullback.

Taiwan's government statistics office recently offered a rosy growth forecast for 2026, supporting Wu's contention.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) in February raised its forecast of Taiwan's economic growth in 2026 to 7.71 percent, from 3.54 percent previously, during the AI boom.

But Wu cautioned that the United States' tariff policies have created global economic uncertainties, especially as a recent Supreme Court ruling against the Trump administration's "reciprocal" tariffs prompted the president to use other legislation to impose duties.

In addition, the Middle East conflict triggered by U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran has pushed up international crude oil prices, Wu said, and he feared higher oil prices could spark inflationary pressures and hurt U.S. consumption.

Under such circumstances and given the strong correlation between the economies of the U.S. and Taiwan, the local economy could feel the pinch in the coming months, he said.

Also in February, the home-buying index compiled by NCU and Taiwan Realty fell 1.19 points month-on-month to 93.76.

The university's February CCI survey collected 3,197 valid responses from Taiwanese consumers aged 20 and older. It has a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.