The consumer price index (CPI) last month edged up a 0.06 percent from a year earlier and in positive territory for the second straight month driven by higher prices for food, airplane tickets and other items, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Stabilization of international oil prices helped the inflationary gauge, even though fuel prices remained a drag, the DGBAS’ monthly report showed.
Of the major consumer product categories, garment prices reported the fastest increase, 1.17 percent, as retailers offered fewer discounts than a year earlier, the report said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Prices for miscellaneous items increased 0.71 percent, lifted by an insatiable demand for gold jewelry and personal accessories, it said.
Quantitative easing by major global central banks to mitigate the pains of the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed up prices for precious metals alongside investment tools.
Medicine and healthcare costs rose 0.55 percent as clinics and hospitals raised registration and copayment fees, it said, adding that some Chinese medicine ingredients also became more expensive.
Prices for food, the largest chunk in the basket with a 25 percent share, gained 0.32 percent year-on-year, as vegetables and meat prices advanced 8.63 percent and 1.58 percent respectively, more than muting a 9.41 percent decline in fruit prices, the DGBAS said.
PORK PRICES
Pork prices fell 0.27 percent as wholesalers and vendors built up sufficient supply ahead of the ongoing peak season and the start of imports of US pork containing ractopamine residues, it said.
Pork prices hovered around NT$70 per kilogram last month and have climbed to NT$75 per kilogram this month, a reasonable development based on seasonal trends, a DGBAS official said.
Transportation and communications costs fell 1.27 percent, due mainly to a 15 percent retreat in oil prices, the agency said.
PLANE TICKETS
While telecommunication charges dropped 6.13 percent, airplane tickets spiked 19.45 percent after airlines cut flights and capacity, it said.
Education and entertainment costs shrank 0.87 percent from a year earlier as hotels continued to cut prices to motivate customers, it said.
Core CPI, a long-term price monitor that excludes volatile items, rose 0.69 percent, the report said, adding that the CPI after seasonal adjustments grew 0.17 percent.
The wholesale price index (WPI), a measure of production costs, contracted 5.1 percent as cheaper ore prices continued to weigh, although prices for base metals and plastic products rose, it said.
For the whole of last year, CPI dropped 0.23 percent, while WPI declined 7.8 percent, it said.
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