Taiwan: Economy could flash 2nd straight ‘yellow-blue light’ – 26 Jun 2017

• Taiwan’s economy is likely to flash yellow-blue for the second consecutive month in May 17, signalling a sluggish performance, with several factors such as retail and wholesale sales in the doldrums, according to the National Development Council (NDC).
• The local economy flashes a different colour based on how the NDC’s composite monitoring indicator fluctuates. The NDC said the index for May 17 will remain unchanged from Apr 17.
• In Apr 17, the economic monitoring composite index fell three points to 21, falling into the yellow-blue category which ranges from 17-22, ending nine consecutive months of “green” which represents stability, with an index ranging from 23-31.
• The NDC said that while local exporters continued to perform well in Apr 17, that was compromised by the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar against the U.S. dollar which weakened momentum in merchandise exports to some extent, while the Apr 17’s machinery imports also fared worse.
• For May 17, the NDC said the sub-indexes for money supply, industrial production, revenue posted by the retail, wholesale and restaurant/food/beverage sectors continued to flash yellow-blue, while machinery imports are green.
• The slowdown in retail sales echoed forecasts by several local think tanks which said private consumption was not strong enough and the effects of an improving export performance have not trickled down to many consumers.
• However, the sub-index for share prices will flash yellow-red as the local equity market continued its uptrend in May 17. The weighted index on the local main board breached the 10,000 point mark for the first time in 17 years on 11 May 17 and continues to steam ahead, led by the bellwether electronics sector.

External Link : http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201706260013.aspx