TAIPEI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The business confidence of Taiwan's manufacturers weakened in April, with the sentiment gauge falling 0.8 points to 81.75, the lowest since February 2009, according to a think tank survey released on Monday.

Shrinking demand in overseas markets has contributed to low confidence among manufacturers, the Taipei-based Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said in a press release.

However, since the novel coronavirus epidemic has gradually eased on the island, the manufacturers' forecast for the next six months has slightly improved, it added.

Those manufacturers with more pessimistic views for the next six months accounted for 34.9 percent, down 5.6 percentage points month on month, while companies with optimistic views rose 6.7 points to 24.8 percent.

The sentiment reading for the service sector rose by 0.4 points to 82.37 in April, putting an end to the continuous decrease from January to March.

For the construction industry, the sentiment reading lost 1.43 points to 84.36. Enditem

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