Taipei, May 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s consumer confidence index (CCI) recovered in May, rising 8.83 points from April to 72.2, mainly due to a bullish stock market rally that topped 21,000 points, according to the latest monthly Taiwan Consumer Confidence Index report released by National Central University (NCU).
A report released on Monday by the Taiwan Economic Development Research Center at National University showed the CCI in May marked a notable increase from last month’s annual low of 63.37.
The April data was released following a sharp drop of 774.08 points in stock prices on April 19, as well as the impact of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Hualien on April 3 and subsequent aftershocks.
The CCI measures people’s confidence in their employment prospects over the next six months, household finances, consumer prices, local economic conditions, the stock market and the ability to purchase durable goods.
The stock market sub-index rose to 59.35 in May from 34.7 in April, the biggest increase among the six sub-indexes, the center said.
Da-Klan Wu, director of the university’s Taiwan Economic Development Research Center, said strong stock prices in May boosted consumer confidence in Taiwan overall.
Wu said the employment outlook sub-index rose the second-highest rate of increase, from 64.72 to 69.66, while the household finances sub-index rose 4.19 points to 78.84.
May 22: Unemployment rate falls to 24-year low in April on strong domestic demand
The consumer price index rose 2.61 percentage points to end at 31.39, the lowest among all indexes, but the figure was up 6.99 percentage points from a year earlier, Wu added.
Wu noted that inflationary pressures from electricity price hikes in April appear to have been offset by a bullish stock market, leading to higher incomes and property values despite stagnant wages.
The random telephone survey was conducted from May 18 to 21 by the NCU Taiwan Economic Development Research Center in collaboration with Fu Jen University Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Doctor Advice Co., Ltd. and Taiwan Real Estate Co., Ltd.
The survey was conducted among 3,060 Taiwanese citizens aged 20 or above, with a confidence level of just under 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.
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