The nation's inflation rate rose sharply last month on the back of higher food and fuel prices, the government's statistics bureau said yesterday.
The consumer price index (CPI) last month was up 2.39 percent year-on-year and 0.05 percent month-on-month after an increase of of 2.32 percent and 0.21 percent in May, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said.
The June CPI, which excludes prices of fresh vegetables and fruit, fishery products and energy, was up 0.47 percent from a year earlier but down 0.07 percent from May, the DGBAS said in a statement.
These figures compare with May's year-on-year rise of 0.56 percent and a 0.05 percent month-on-month decline.
Last month's wholesale price index fell 1.04 percent year-on-year but was up a seasonally adjusted 0.02 percent month-on-month, it said.
For the six months to June, the overall CPI rose 1.84 percent from a year earlier.
The nation's central bank on June 30 raised its benchmark interest rate for a fourth straight quarter, saying inflation may exceed the official 1.7 percent forecast this year.
"Inflationary pressure may come to the surface in the second half," said Tiger Cheng, an economist at Polaris Securities (寶來證券) in Taipei. "Energy costs, utility fees and transport costs may rise as oil prices remain high."
According to the DGBAS, a 10 percent increase in domestic oil prices would add an estimated 0.39 percentage points to the inflation rate.
Utilities prices surged 5 percent last month from May, without adjusting for seasonal factors, while food costs increased 0.6 percent, with vegetable costs jumping 15 percent, the DGBAS said.
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