Taiwan's consumer confidence index edges up slightly in April

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer confidence index (CCI) edged up in April despite tensions in the Middle East, supported in part by record highs on the local stock market, according to a monthly survey released Monday by National Central University (NCU).

Citing the survey, conducted April 18-21, NCU said the April CCI increased 0.17 points from a month earlier to 62.47.

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 employment prospects rose to 71 points in April, up 0.82 points from a month earlier, marking the biggest increase among the six factors. The sub-indexes for the domestic economic climate, family finances and stock investment sentiment also edged up by 0.4, 0.34 and 0.21 points to 79.67, 76.39 and 23.09, respectively.

Meanwhile, the sub-indexes for durable goods purchases and consumer prices fell by 0.68 and 0.08 points to 92.33 and 32.32, respectively.

Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of NCU's Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, said the April CCI edged up only marginally, with all sub-indexes moving up or down by less than one point.

Despite Middle East tensions, Taiwan's consumer confidence remained stable, which Wu attributed to two main factors.

First, record highs in local shares enabled retail investors to tap gains in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. via fractional shares and ETFs, with the resulting wealth effect lifting indicators on household finances and the broader economy.

He added that although the sub-index for stock investment sentiment rose only 0.21 points, this should not be interpreted as weakening confidence, as investors remain cautious about buying at elevated levels after repeated record highs.

Second, government efforts to freeze fuel prices helped reduce the impact on consumers. As a result, confidence in price levels did not decline significantly in April and could even be described as "fairly strong," he added.

Looking ahead, Wu said Middle East tensions remain a key uncertainty this year, but their impact has been muted so far due to the absence of further escalation. He added that support from the local stock market and government price-stabilization measures have helped cushion consumer sentiment against inflationary pressures.

The April CCI survey collected 3,369 valid responses from Taiwanese consumers aged 20 and older and has a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.