TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) indicated on Wednesday (Nov. 22) that as the summer peak period for electricity consumption ended, demand for electricity in Sept. has decreased, continuing a trend towards a cautious, yellow-blue light on the overall industrial electricity prosperity index.
The TRI's Oct. Taiwan EPI, a measure of electrical power economic performance, showed that the usage of high voltage electricity across national industries grew by 0.16% compared with the same period in 2022, marking two consecutive months of positive growth in industrial electricity consumption, albeit with a smaller increase than in Sept.
TRI President Wu Tsai-yi pointed out that prolonged global inflation and interest rate hikes, along with ongoing geopolitical crises, have led to persistent weakness in international market demand, contributing to a deceleration in economic growth.
However, the rise of AI applications, the launch of new consumer electronics, and stockpiling for the end-of-year shopping season have resulted in a successful inventory turnover in the domestic electronic technology industry, progressively restoring inventory demand.
Coupled with sustained private consumption momentum and the negative economic growth factors of the fourth quarter in 2022, a significant increase in economic growth to 4.4% is estimated for Oct., Wu explained.
The TRI president predicted that despite a slow and weak recovery, the diminishing effects of inflation and interest rate increases suggest a gradual return to normalcy for global economic and business activities.
