Taipei, March 28, 2008 (CENS)-Taiwan`s economy may be on the brink of slipping into another recession, as the composite index of eight leading indicators compiled by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) tumbled in February, for the sixth month in a row.

The CEPD, the Cabinet`s economic think tank, reported on March 27 that the composite index of eight leading indicators dropped 1 percentage point in February, continuing the downtrend from last September, with the index shedding 4.5 percentage points in total during the six-month period.

The CEPD noted, though, that more observation is needed to determine whether the economy is in fact lapsing into recession, noting that the index had dropped for nine months continuously for a total 13.5 percentage points before the onset of the last recession in September 2000.

Jui-bin Hung, director of the CEPD`s economic research department, admitted that economic outlook this year is not encouraging, as major economic research bodies have successively revised downward their forecast growth rates for major economies worldwide, due to the impact of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and soaring oil and bulk-commodity prices.

Meanwhile, the CEPD flashed another green light, for the fourth month running, for Taiwan`s economic state in February, indicating a stable economy in the month. The corresponding composite index, though, dropped 2 points to 27, the lowest in the past eight months, mainly due to downturn in financial and consumption indicators.
((PL))
(FN) (GE)
(by Philip Liu)