離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 CCI rises to near three-year high
People wait in line outside a bubble tea shop in Taipei’s Ximending area yesterday. Photo: CNA
STORM IMPACT: An estimated NT$1.8 billion in agricultural losses from Tyhpoon Gaemi could drive up consumer prices, the director of the NCU Economic Research Center said
/ Staff writer, with CNA
The consumer confidence index （CCI） this month rose to the highest in almost three years after improving for a third consecutive month, with most of the index’s six factors increasing, National Central University （NCU） said yesterday.
Citing a survey of 3,016 people conducted from July 18 to 21, NCU said the index rose 2.67 points from a month earlier to 75.36, the highest since August 2021, when it was 75.43.
The index gauges the level of confidence people have in consumer prices, the local economic climate, the stock market, the likelihood of purchasing durable goods, employment prospects and family finances over the next six months.
This month, the subindex for consumer prices rose 5.93 points to 38.41, the highest growth among the six major factors, the survey showed.
It was the highest since October 2021, when the subindex was 38.8.
The survey was conducted before Typhoon Gaemi hit Taiwan last week, and the estimated NT$1.8 billion （US$54.76 million） in agricultural losses from the storm could cause agricultural product prices to spike, pushing up consumer prices, NCU Economic Research Center director Dachrahn Wu （吳大任） said.
In the first half of this year, Taiwan’s consumer price index （CPI） rose 2.27 percent, with core CPI, which excludes fruit, vegetables and energy, up 2.02 percent, above the central bank’s 2 percent alert level.
In addition, the subindices for employment, family finances and the local economic climate also rose 4.09, 3.91 and 3.86 points respectively from a month earlier to 75.23, 82.89 and 87.38 this month, the survey showed.
Bucking the upturn, the subindex on purchases of durable goods remained unchanged from a month earlier at 111.67, while the subindex on the local stock market fell 1.82 points from a month earlier to 56.56, NCU said.
Since the beginning of this year, the local stock market has risen sharply, giving consumers a sense that their wealth is growing and offsetting the effects from a rise in consumer prices, Wu said.
However, faith in the local stock market fell after stocks started technical corrections in recent sessions as investors rushed to pocket earlier gains, he said.
Markets at home and abroad have high hopes that the US Federal Reserve would start a rate cut cycle as early as September, but some worry about a rise in unemployment and drop in consumption in the US, which could affect Taiwan’s exports, he added.
Another NCU survey conducted jointly with Taiwan Realty Co （台灣房屋） yesterday showed a month-on-month rise of 0.1 points in the index for home buying, which was 107.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
