As the cost of crude oil continues to soar, an internal assessment report by the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said yesterday that local prices are almost certain to rise.
Citing grave international concern over the world's declining crude oil reserves, the CEPD acknowledged that persistently high oil prices is likely to be a long-term trend.
The ratio of Taiwan's oil imports to its total imports slid from 22.8 percent in 1982 to 8.3 percent last year, CEPD statistics show. At the same time, the ratio of Taiwan's oil imports to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) dropped from 8.25 percent to 3.7 percent.
The production value of oil-related businesses as a percentage of Taiwan's GDP fell from 37 percent in 1980 to 27 percent last year, according to the same tallies.
The CEPD forecast that long-term oil prices will climb and called for enhanced research into alternative energy sources.
As a result of the rebounding economy and surging oil prices, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) raised its projected growth rates over the weekend for the wholesale price index and the consumer product index for this year to 6.99 percent and 1.49 percent, respectively.
As to public speculation that rising oil prices may cause Taiwan's economic expansion to grind to a halt, the DGBAS officials said that energy factors exercise a smaller influence on the world economy than in the past.
State-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油), meanwhile, has found itself between a rock and a hard place amid rising costs.
CPC President Chen Bao-lang (
But there are now concerns that the pledge will erode the company's full-year profits if it fails to adjust its prices before the start of September to reflect costs.
Statistics compiled by the Commission of National Corporations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs show that the CPC racked up pre-tax profits of NT$14.93 billion (US$439 million) for the first seven months of this year, or 120.36 percent of the target set for the entire year.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
RSS