The central bank is to focus on inflation in an upcoming quarterly policy meeting, as the public has been affected by rising prices, bank Deputy Governor Yen Tzung-ta (嚴宗大) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei yesterday.
Yen said the bank considers three factors — economic growth, financial stabilization and inflation — when it adjusts its monetary policy.
Inflation has weighed more in the central bank’s consideration, as the consumer price index (CPI) has risen by more than 2 percent — an alert level set by the central bank — for 19 months in a row, Yen said.
Photo: CNA
Such a long period of high growth in the CPI has boosted public expectation that it is likely to continue to rise, Yen said.
Taiwan’s CPI rose by 2.74 percent over the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year, and by 2.43 percent last month alone, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said.
Inflation could rise further, as the government decided last week to raise electricity rates by an average of 11 percent starting on Saturday next week.
The power tariff hike is expected to result in an increase of 0.204 percentage points to the CPI, the DGBAS said.
The central bank has scheduled its next quarterly policy meeting for Thursday.
Market analysts have said the central bank might leave key interest rates unchanged to boost the economy at a time when Taiwan’s exports have been affected by weakening global demand.
Taiwan’s outbound shipments last month fell 17.1 percent year-on-year to US$31.05 billion, marking the sixth consecutive month of annual decline.
The central bank since March last year has raised rates by 62.5 basis points in an effort to combat inflation.
In the last policy meeting held in December last year, the central bank estimated the nation’s GDP would grow 2.53 percent this year by taking into account Taiwan’s weaker export performance.
Yen said the central bank would announce an update of its forecast after Thursday’s meeting.
Responding to the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US, Yen said the US Federal Reserve might slow its pace of hikes in the current rate hike cycle, which is likely to stabilize global financial markets.
The Fed is to begin a two-day policy meeting starting today.
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned. A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash. However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety. “Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito
RSS