The nation’s consumer prices remained relatively stable last month as inflation dropped moderately for the fourth straight month, attributable to a high base last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The statistics agency said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) dipped 0.08 percent year-on-year last month as the cost of food edged up but transportation and entertainment costs fell following the outbreak of A(H1N1).
“Fuel and raw material prices picked up in May but remained relatively low from the same period last year,” DGBAS section chief Wu Chao-ming (吳昭明) told a media briefing.
Crude oil averaged US$56.98 a barrel last month, down from US$119.39 a year earlier, the report said. Meanwhile, transportation and entertainment costs dropped 5.36 percent and 1.2 percent respectively, as people cut back on travel amid fears of catching the new flu strain, Wu said.
The statistics official said the CPI reading showed deflation pressure lingering, but said this was not a cause for concern.
“Overall commodity prices remain stable despite ups and downs for some items,” he said.
The core CPI — a measure used to track long-term consumer prices after excluding volatile energy, fruit and vegetable prices — saw growth slow to 0.12 percent last month from 0.4 percent a month earlier, the DGBAS said, indicating that the sluggish economy left retailers little room to raise prices.
“Retailers have been refraining from raising prices because consumers are concerned about spending money because of job insecurity,” said Chuang Re-hong (莊瑞鴻), head of economic research at Sinopac Securities Corp (永豐金證券).
Against this backdrop, the central bank is likely to leave the interest rates unchanged after a board meeting on June 25, Chuang said.
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