Taiwan retail sales set a record in October, according to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
Retail sales rose 4.2 percent year on year to NT$340.7 billion (US$11.16 billion), the highest ever recorded for October and following year-on-year sales increases for every month of this year to date.
The figures indicate that global trade tensions have largely not impacted private consumption in the country.
“Wealth effects arising from a booming local stock market prompted consumers to shop,” said MOEA’s statistics department deputy head Wang Shu-chuan, “although the domestic economy has been affected by a global slowdown amid unfavorable trade issues.”
Taiwanese retail sales by department stores rose 2.5 percent to NT$40.6 billion ($1.33 billion) while supermarket sales grew 8.8 percent to NT$18.0 billion ($590 million).
For the first 10 months of the year, Taiwan retail sales rose 2.9 percent.