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Taiwan's Economic Indicator Flashes 8th Green in September

2014/11/05 | By Judy Li

Taiwan's economic indicator flashed the eighth green in September, indicative of stable  economy, with the composite scores down two to 27 points however, according to Taiwan's  National Development Council (NDC).

NDC uses a five-color gauge to show the island's economic performance: green means stable economic growth; red reflects overheating economy; yellow-red shows a heating economy; yellow-blue signals economic slowdown; and blue indicates a recession.

Among the composites that constitute the economic indicator,  real machinery and electrical equipment imports and real manufacturing sales both saw  indicators turn green from yellow-red of a month earlier, with scores falling one point each.

In August the annualized 6-month rate of change in the leading composite index edged down 0.1 point from the previous month to 99.99, the seventh consecutive monthly drop. An NDC official indicates that the drop in the leading index in the first seven months totaled only 0.6 point, hence being of little significance to the economy.

Being Taiwan's major trade partner, the United States is predicted to see 3%-plus economic growth in 2015 to help drive  Taiwan's exports. However, Taiwan's domestic trade has been battered by the recent discovery of tainted cooking oils imported from Vietnam to result in lack of confidence and occasional panic among consumers to undermine sales at restaurants, department stores and food retailers. (JL)