Despite Conflict Interference, April Consumer Confidence Slightly Rises; Taiwan Stocks Support Market
Taiwan's consumer confidence index for April showed a slight increase despite interference from Middle East conflicts. This was primarily supported by the booming Taiwan stock market and the government's decision to freeze oil prices, alleviating the impact of the conflict.
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- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 12:57
- 🔍 Collected: April 27, 2026 at 13:31 (34 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 02:35 (13h 3m after Collected)
Taipei, April 27 (CNA) The National Central University's Center for Taiwan Economic Development announced today the consumer confidence index for April. Despite interference from the Middle East conflicts, the index still saw a slight increase. Wu Da-ren, Executive Director of the Center, analyzed that the continuous highs of Taiwan's stock market, which attracted many individual investors, coupled with the government's frozen oil prices, mitigated the impact of the conflict, all contributing to supporting consumer confidence.
The survey by the National Central University's Center for Taiwan Economic Development found that the total Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for April was 62.47 points, a monthly increase of 0.17 points. Among the six sub-indicators, family economic situation, domestic economic outlook, employment opportunities, and timing for stock investment increased, while price levels and purchases of durable goods decreased.
Wu Da-ren pointed out that although the CCI index rose, the increase was minimal, and the changes in sub-indicators were all less than 1 point. The confidence situation in April should be regarded as 'flat.'
However, despite the interference from Middle East conflicts, the consumer confidence index remained stable. Wu Da-ren highlighted two major factors: first, the continuous highs of Taiwan stocks. People could participate in TSMC's upward trend through fractional shares, ETFs, etc., and the wealth effect from the stock market consequently boosted indicators such as family economy and domestic economy.
It is noteworthy that Taiwan stocks were strong and saw astonishing gains in April, but the 'timing for stock investment in the next six months' indicator was 23.09 points, only a monthly increase of 0.21 points. Wu Da-ren explained that it should not be interpreted as investors losing confidence in the stock market just because the indicator is low. The more likely situation is that with Taiwan stocks frequently hitting new highs, investors are 'thinking from a high position,' worrying about being trapped if they buy at high prices, thus believing that the next six months might not be a good time for stock investment.
Wu Da-ren further noted that the second factor was the ongoing Middle East conflicts, which caused international energy prices to surge, raising inflation concerns. However, the government's frozen oil prices reduced the impact on consumers, and confidence in April's price levels did not significantly drop; it could even be said to have 'performed quite well.'
Wu Da-ren believes that the Middle East conflicts are a major variable for this year's economy, but they are currently at a stalemate, with no more negative news emerging. Coupled with Taiwan stocks supporting consumer confidence and the government's price stabilization measures mitigating inflation's impact, the effects of the conflict have been diluted. In contrast, real estate-related indicators performed the worst.
The 'purchase of durable goods in the next six months' indicator for April was 92.33 points, a monthly decrease of 0.68 points. The 'timing for purchasing real estate' indicator, jointly compiled by National Central University and Taiwan Realty Group, dropped to 89.23 points, a monthly decrease of 0.27 points.
Wu Da-ren pointed out that the Central Bank's strict credit control measures continue, and the real estate market remains sluggish. Stock market funds also failed to shift to the real estate market. 'In this survey, the real estate market indicators performed the worst.'
The April Consumer Confidence Index survey was organized by the National Central University's Center for Taiwan Economic Development, with assistance from Fu Jen Catholic University's AI Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Health Force Co., Ltd., and Taiwan Realty Group. The survey period was from April 18 to 21, 2026. It was conducted via telephone interviews using computer-random sampling, surveying a total of 3,369 residents in Taiwan aged 20 and above. Under a 95% confidence level, the sampling error was plus or minus 2.0 percentage points. (Edited by Lin Ke-lun) 1150427
The survey by the National Central University's Center for Taiwan Economic Development found that the total Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for April was 62.47 points, a monthly increase of 0.17 points. Among the six sub-indicators, family economic situation, domestic economic outlook, employment opportunities, and timing for stock investment increased, while price levels and purchases of durable goods decreased.
Wu Da-ren pointed out that although the CCI index rose, the increase was minimal, and the changes in sub-indicators were all less than 1 point. The confidence situation in April should be regarded as 'flat.'
However, despite the interference from Middle East conflicts, the consumer confidence index remained stable. Wu Da-ren highlighted two major factors: first, the continuous highs of Taiwan stocks. People could participate in TSMC's upward trend through fractional shares, ETFs, etc., and the wealth effect from the stock market consequently boosted indicators such as family economy and domestic economy.
It is noteworthy that Taiwan stocks were strong and saw astonishing gains in April, but the 'timing for stock investment in the next six months' indicator was 23.09 points, only a monthly increase of 0.21 points. Wu Da-ren explained that it should not be interpreted as investors losing confidence in the stock market just because the indicator is low. The more likely situation is that with Taiwan stocks frequently hitting new highs, investors are 'thinking from a high position,' worrying about being trapped if they buy at high prices, thus believing that the next six months might not be a good time for stock investment.
Wu Da-ren further noted that the second factor was the ongoing Middle East conflicts, which caused international energy prices to surge, raising inflation concerns. However, the government's frozen oil prices reduced the impact on consumers, and confidence in April's price levels did not significantly drop; it could even be said to have 'performed quite well.'
Wu Da-ren believes that the Middle East conflicts are a major variable for this year's economy, but they are currently at a stalemate, with no more negative news emerging. Coupled with Taiwan stocks supporting consumer confidence and the government's price stabilization measures mitigating inflation's impact, the effects of the conflict have been diluted. In contrast, real estate-related indicators performed the worst.
The 'purchase of durable goods in the next six months' indicator for April was 92.33 points, a monthly decrease of 0.68 points. The 'timing for purchasing real estate' indicator, jointly compiled by National Central University and Taiwan Realty Group, dropped to 89.23 points, a monthly decrease of 0.27 points.
Wu Da-ren pointed out that the Central Bank's strict credit control measures continue, and the real estate market remains sluggish. Stock market funds also failed to shift to the real estate market. 'In this survey, the real estate market indicators performed the worst.'
The April Consumer Confidence Index survey was organized by the National Central University's Center for Taiwan Economic Development, with assistance from Fu Jen Catholic University's AI Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Health Force Co., Ltd., and Taiwan Realty Group. The survey period was from April 18 to 21, 2026. It was conducted via telephone interviews using computer-random sampling, surveying a total of 3,369 residents in Taiwan aged 20 and above. Under a 95% confidence level, the sampling error was plus or minus 2.0 percentage points. (Edited by Lin Ke-lun) 1150427