Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) Taiwan's economy ended 10 consecutive months of contraction in September as an index gauging economic conditions flashed a "yellow blue" light, indicating sluggish growth, an upgrade from a "blue light" signaling contraction, the National Development Council (NDC) said Friday.Data compiled by the NDC showed the composite index of economic indicators rose two points from a month earlier to 17, falling into the yellow blue light category ranging from 17 to 22.However, leading indicators continued to fall by 0.77 percent from a month earlier to 97.88, the sixth consecutive monthly decline, according to the NDC.The NDC uses a five-color system to gauge the country's economic performance, with blue indicating economic contraction, yellow-blue representing sluggishness, green signifying stable growth, yellow-red referring to a warming economy, and red pointing to an overheated or booming economy.The NDC said the increase in the composite index of economic indicators partly came after the sub-index on merchandise exports rose one point from a month earlier to flash a green light in September, improving from a yellow blue light in August.In addition, the sub-index on business sentiment among local manufacturers also move higher by one point from a month earlier to flash a yellow blue light in September, compared with a blue light in August.The sub-indexes for the seven others factors in the composite index - money supply (blue light), changes in share prices (yellow red light), industrial production (blue light), nonfarm payrolls (green light), imports of machinery and electric equipment (blue light), sales generated by the manufacturing sector (blue light), and revenue posted by the wholesale, retail, and food/beverage industries (blue light) -- remained unchanged.The growing popularity of artificial intelligence development and rising demand for other emerging technologies pushed up Taiwan's exports in September, while a decline in industrial production and sales was moderated in the month on the back of an increase in outbound sales.Domestic demand remained stable as retail sales and revenue posted by the food and beverage industry hit a new high for September in the post COVID-19 era, the NDC said.Chiu Chiu-ying, deputy director of the NDC's Department of Economic Development, said although the September composite index stayed at the lower end of the yellow blue light category, the index has improved month by month since February, when it stood at 12 points, signaling the economy is on an uptrend.Business sentiment in the manufacturing sector improved for the third consecutive month in September, indicating the sector's enhanced faith in the local economy, Chiu said.However, she warned of possible short-term interruptions in local economic development down the road, referring to the small increase in the September composite index.Chiu said although the leading indicators have fallen six months in a row, the aggregate decline from February to September has been only 2.91 percent.In September, the sub-indexes for the leading indicators on export orders, money supply, employment in the industrial and service sectors, total floor area of new construction projects, and imports of semiconductor equipment moved lower from August, the NDC said.However, the other two sub-indexes on factors -- changes in share prices and business sentiment among manufacturers -- moved higher from a month earlier in September, the NDC added.The silver lining is that all of the seven sub-indexes relating to the coincident indicators, which assesses current economic conditions moved higher from a month earlier, pushing up the indicators by 1.30 percent from a month earlier to 99.49 in September, Chiu said.The seven factors are industrial production, electricity consumption by enterprises, manufacturers' sales, revenue posted by the retail, wholesale and food/beverage industry, nonfarm payrolls, merchandise exports, and imports of machinery and electric equipment.Chiu said peak season effects and growing new technology applications in the fourth quarter are expected to strength the export-oriented Taiwan economy.However, she said a war between Israel and Hamas could lead to a spike in international crude oil prices and exacerbate inflation worldwide, while growing trade tensions between the United States and China could create more uncertainties for the global economy.(By Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang)Enditem/AW (ICE TAIPEI)

Fonte notizia: Organi di Stampa - Focus Taiwan News Channel