The consumer price index (CPI) last month rose 2.35 percent from a year earlier, easing from a 2.43 percent increase in February and driven mainly by more expensive food and entertainment, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The latest CPI data suggest that inflationary pressure remained high, especially for frequently purchased items whose prices rose 6.12 percent, the agency’s monthly report showed.
“Inflationary pressures would remain tight in the near term and average people would feel the pinch more distinctly,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said.
Photo: CNA
Food prices, the largest CPI component, grew 4.86 percent, as egg prices soared 26.52 percent, gaining by double percentage points for 17 months in a row, Tsao said.
Increased feeding costs pushed up egg prices, which are expected to gradually stabilize with egg imports, but the market needs time to adapt to the changes, he said.
Similar reasons contributed to a 5.75 percent increase in meat prices, he said.
Cooking oil and fruit prices rose 9.56 and 11.8 percent respectively, while the cost of dining out increased 4.08 percent after falling below the 4 percent mark in the previous two months, Tsao said.
Education and entertainment, another major CPI driver, gained 2.79 percent as recreational costs rose 6.46 percent after authorities further eased COVID-19 restrictions, the report said.
Shelter costs increased 2.3 percent as landlords raised rents, and as home repair and improvement became more expensive, it said.
Transportation and telecommunication costs declined 0.78 percent after international fuel prices fell 6.74 percent, it said.
Falling energy and raw material prices would help mitigate inflationary pressures this quarter, but rapid, steep easing is unlikely, Tsao said.
Core CPI expanded 2.55 percent, faster than the headline value after stripping volatile items, it said.
The producer price index (PPI), which measures price changes from a seller’s perspective, gained 0.05 percent, after prices for exports and imports softened whether measured by the US dollar or the local currency, it said.
For the first quarter, the CPI registered a 2.62 percent increase, while the PPI rose 3.4 percent, it said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in