Taiwan Confidence Falls as Durable-Goods Gauge Hits Lowest Level in More Than 17 Years

Taiwan’s Consumer Confidence Index fell in October as the measure of willingness to buy durable goods over the coming six months reached its lowest level in more than 17 years.

The overall index stood at 66.27, down 2.5 points from September. Three of its six components rose: expectations for job opportunities, prices and stock-investment conditions. Measures of household finances, the domestic economy and durable-goods purchases declined.

The durable-goods measure fell 10.81 points to 82.97. The job-opportunities gauge rose one point to 77.7.

The executive director of National Central University’s Taiwan Economic Development Research Center, 吳大任, linked weaker buying intentions to rising prices for memory and other components amid an AI procurement boom. He said higher component costs had pushed up phone and laptop prices, leading consumers to delay purchases.

A separate real estate purchase-timing index dropped 8.2 points to 90.64. 吳大任 said the stock-market boom had affected the availability of funds, making it harder for some people to obtain loans and weighing on the property market.

The survey covered 3,162 people ages 20 and older from Oct. 18–21, using computer-based random sampling.