The consumer price index (CPI) in Taiwan grew for the fifth consecutive month last month, but the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said the upward trend didn’t pose an inflation threat as consumer spending remained stagnant.
The CPI rose 0.74 percent last month over the same period last year, while the CPI for the first five months rose 1.19 percent, the bureau said yesterday.
The CPI is a measure estimating the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Its change in percentage is an estimate of inflation.
“General pay for the workforce has remained unchanged and people’s spending power hasn’t exactly gained full steam. There is no worry of inflation,” DGBAS section chief Wu Chao-ming (吳昭明) said.
He said the bulk of year-on-year CPI growth last month was attributed to the rising costs of natural gas and fuel, which rose 18.3 percent and 15.7 percent respectively.
Conversely, the index for food items last month was down 0.41 percent from last year, mostly caused by price drops in eggs, fruits and vegetables. The instruction and entertainment index was also down 0.48 percent as a series of high-tech devices, including PCs and TVs, engaged in a discount price war.
On a monthly basis, last month’s CPI dropped 0.17 percentage points, bureau statistics showed.
This was caused by the promotion of cosmetics products for Mother’s Day, as well as falling prices for fruit and eggs. However, outbound tour packages were more expensive on a month-on-month basis, the result of rising fuel costs, Wu said.
Meanwhile, the bureau said the wholesale price index (WPI) last month jumped 9.41 percent from last year, the highest growth since August 2008. The WPI gauges manufacturers’ wholesale prices of products to retailers.
The upside was caused by higher oil product, metal and chemical material prices, it said.
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