The consumer price index (CPI) last month grew 2.29 percent from a year earlier, above the central bank’s 2 percent threshold and accelerating from the 1.58 percent increase the previous month, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported yesterday.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.04 percentage points, which the DGBAS attributed to price increases in eggs and fruits, despite price declines in vegetables, clothes and gasoline products.
“The annual increase of 2.29 percent in CPI last month came as fruit prices remained high due to the low post-typhoon recovery in harvests,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Banana prices rose 107.32 percent and tomato prices increased 49.82 percent from a year earlier, the agency’s data showed.
Fruit price growth last month hit a more than eight-year high, and the increase in fruit and vegetable prices together contributed about 0.74 percentage points to the CPI growth last month, Tsao said.
Meanwhile, the cost of dining out rose by more than 3 percent for the fifth consecutive month last month.
Overall, the food price spike contributed 1.32 percentage points to the overall CPI growth in the month, he said.
The core CPI, which excludes vegetables, fruit and energy, grew 1.63 percent from a year earlier last month, below the 2 percent mark, Tsao said, adding that it indicated local consumer prices remained stable.
In the first three months of this year, the CPI increased 2.18 percent compared with the same quarter last year, the DGBAS said.
Asked whether the “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 32 percent on Taiwanese goods announced by US President Donald Trump, and which are to take effect today, would push up production costs and add inflationary pressure in Taiwan, Tsao said the public should not worry.
The US tariffs could also hurt demand, sending raw material prices lower, which is expected to cap price growth, he said.
“As the tariffs might negatively affect global and US economic activity, and weaken global demand and raw material prices, Taiwan faces no significant risk of rising inflation in the short term,” he said.
The CPI is unlikely to skyrocket this year due to the tariff effect, Tsao said.
Even if price hikes happen, the government would introduce measures to mitigate the impact, he added.
Meanwhile, the producer price index (PPI) rose 3.53 percent from a year earlier last month, largely due to an increase in prices of agricultural products, computers and optoelectronics as well as an increase in electricity rates, the DGBAS said.
In the first three months, the PPI rose 3.69 percent from a year earlier, the agency said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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