The consumer price index (CPI) last month rose 0.86 percent year-on-year as heavy rainfall disrupted vegetable and fruit supplies and pushed up prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Food costs, which account for 25 percent of the inflation gauge, gained 3.36 percent year-on-year, the highest since a 4.45 percent increase in December 2016, DGBAS Senior Executive Officer Chiou Shwu-chwen (邱淑純) told a news conference in Taipei.
“The plum rain season developed into heavy rain after June 10 and harmed agricultural harvests, driving up vegetable and fruit prices 20.03 percent and 14.73 percent respectively,” Chiou said.
Wholesale fruit prices totaled NT$40.1 per kilogram on average, the highest level in 28 months, but they have eased to NT$36.1 this week, Chiou said.
Although vegetable prices posted a smaller increase compared with the 26 percent jump in May, they remained at a higher level than last year, at NT$32 per kilogram on average this week, Chiou said.
Despite the considerable advance in vegetable and fruit prices, the cost of eating out slowed to a 1.54 percent pickup, the mildest in 30 months, thanks to falling prices of propane, she said.
“Food vendors usually do not adjust their prices unless vegetable prices stay high for a long period,” she added.
Core CPI — a more reliable long-term consumer price tracker, as it excludes volatile items — advanced 0.49 percent year-on-year, she said.
Living costs advanced a mild 0.69 percent due to a 3.13 percent increase in gas prices, Chiou said, adding that the prices would decline this month.
Electricity prices remained flat after increasing 21.57 percent a month earlier as Taiwan Power Co (台電) raised its rates to encourage power conservation, Chiou said.
In the second quarter, CPI edged up 0.81 percent year-on-year, slightly higher than the agency’s forecast of 0.74 percent, Chiou said, adding that the agency would update its forecast next month.
In the first half, CPI edged up 0.56 percent year-on-year, she said.
The wholesale price index, a measure of production costs for companies, last month declined 1.93 percent as an ongoing US-China trade dispute weakened demand for crude oil and dragged down prices, she said.
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