The consumer price index (CPI) last month contracted 0.76 percent from a year earlier, as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced transportation, recreation and food costs, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
It was the fifth consecutive month in which the inflationary gauge recorded a negative value, but the statistics agency shrugged off deflation concerns, saying that the pace of decline narrowed from the previous month’s 1.21 percent.
“There is no need to worry about deflation, given that the pace of contraction is losing steam,” DGBAS Senior Executive Officer Chiou Shwu-chwen (邱淑純) told a media briefing in Taipei.
Photo: Clare Cheng, Taipei Times
The index gained 0.79 percent from a month earlier and picked up 0.39 percent after seasonal adjustments, Chiou added.
Transportation and communication costs reported the biggest decline at 5.64 percent, dragged by a 21.75 percent drop in international oil prices, the agency’s monthly report showed.
Education and entertainment costs slipped 1.48 percent as hotels, recreational facilities and travel agencies cut prices to attract customers, it said.
Food costs declined 0.04 percent after fruit prices shrank 8.2 percent and meat prices picked up 1.31 percent, the report said.
On the other hand, prices for clothing, health and miscellaneous items increased 1.52 percent, 1.24 percent and 0.95 percent respectively, it said.
Consumer activity is expected to see a boost following the release of Triple Stimulus Vouchers next week, lending support to hotel room rates, and visits to theme parks and other recreation establishments, Chiou said.
Core CPI, a more reliable long-term tracker of consumer price movements because it excludes volatile items, rose 0.13 percent.
The wholesale price index (WPI), a measure of production costs, dropped 10.36 percent, easing from a revised 12.15 percent decline a month earlier, the DGBAS said.
Import prices fell 9.08 percent in US dollar terms, while export prices shed 9.14 percent, it said.
For the first six months of the year, the CPI edged down 0.22 percent and the WPI fell 8.2 percent, it said.
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