Consumer confidence in Taiwan reached its highest point for 23 months in October at a time when the local equity market is booming and the government is set to raise wages for civil servants, teachers and military personnel by 3%, effective from January, a survey released by National Central University showed Friday.
Citing the survey, NCU said the local consumer confidence index for October rose 1.14 points from a month earlier to 83.34, the highest level since November 2015, when the CCI stood at 84.20, CNA reported.
Dachrahn Wu, director of NCU’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, told the press consumer sentiment was partly boosted by the strong showing of the local equity market.
In mid-May, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed above the 10,000 point level for the first time in 17 years and the momentum has continued, keeping share prices above that level for more than 100 consecutive trading sessions.
On Friday, the weighted index closed down 0.24% at 10,709.11 after hitting a high of 10,803.60, on profit taking.
The sub-index for the stock market rose to 98.50 in October, up 3.10 from a month earlier, the largest increase among the six factors, while the sub-indexes for the local economic climate and family finances also gained 1.60 and 1.10, respectively, from a month earlier to 77.45 and 82.60, the survey indicated.
The survey found the sub-index for consumer prices and employment rose 0.95 and 0.20 points, respectively, from September to 49.55 and 103.80 in October.
The results showed that despite the increases, only the employment sub-index indicated optimism over the next six months, the university said.
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