Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2 percent year-on-year last month, marking the 11th consecutive month below the central bank’s 2 percent alert level and the smallest annual gain in five years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The steep 23.32 percent drop in fruit prices was the main factor holding down headline inflation. For the first quarter, average CPI rose 1.23 percent compared with the same period last year, the statistics agency said.
Fuel costs rose 6.49 percent from February, but remained 0.33 percent below last year’s level. Meanwhile, dining out continued to climb, and housing rents recorded a modest 1.86 percent increase. Among 17 key consumer goods, eggs posted the highest annual gain at 6.59 percent, though growth has slowed, the agency said.
Photo: CNA
DGBAS credited government price-stabilization measures for keeping inflation in check.
“Despite the US-Iran conflict, domestic fuel prices rose by only a fraction of global oil fluctuations, thanks to mechanisms such as an oil price adjustment framework,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile items such as fruit and energy, rose 1.94 percent year-on-year, driven by sticky dining out, housing, household management fees, utility and transport costs, the agency said.
By category, miscellaneous goods posted the highest annual growth at 3.2 percent, buoyed by international gold prices and personal care services. Shelter costs rose 2.02 percent due to higher rent, gas, electricity and management fees, while food prices overall fell 0.22 percent, it said.
Upstream indicators also signaled rising costs, with the producer price index climbing 2.53 percent year-on-year last month. The first-quarter average was just 0.17 percent higher than a year earlier, the agency said.
The import price index, measured in US dollars, jumped 8.53 percent as international crude surged following the Middle East conflict, highlighting Taiwan’s reliance on imported oil and gas, it said.
DGBAS said rising import prices could push CPI higher this month, though annual inflation is expected to remain below 2 percent.
International crude oil prices plunged sharply yesterday after the US and Iran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire that would reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a development that could ease fuel cost pressures, the agency said.
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