The consumer price index (CPI) last month gained 2.71 percent from a year earlier, easing from November’s 2.9 percent, but remained elevated on the back of more expensive food and services, the Directorate-
General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
For the whole of last year, the inflationary gauge increased 2.5 percent, the second-highest in 15 years and faster than the central bank’s 2 percent target, but could return to the target this year as revenge consumption tapers off, the agency said.
Photo: CNA
“Inflationary pressure lingers, but is losing momentum,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said.
The reading tends to temporarily tick up toward the Lunar New Year due to rising demand from corporate feasts and family reunions.
Consumer prices after seasonal adjustments grew a mild 0.29 percent last month and shed 0.04 percent from one month earlier, indicating that CPI is heading in a healthy direction, DGBAS data showed.
Food costs, the largest chunk of the CPI weighting, increased 4.72 percent, as recent typhoons
continued to weigh on the supply of fruit and pushed prices up 20.86 percent year-on-year, the agency said.
Meat prices rose 6.09 percent, while dining out costs rose 4.18 percent, it added. In contrast, vegetable prices on average declined 5.8 percent as shorter growing seasons allowed producers to emerge rapidly from earlier bad weather.
Healthcare expenses grew 2.79 percent due to a 3.28 percent hike in drug and health product prices, it said.
Miscellaneous items picked up 2.6 percent, as personal accessories and domestic care services became more expensive, it said.
Education and entertainment prices increased 2.37 percent, as strong leisure demand led the service sector to raise charges by 4.4 percent, the agency said.
Additionally, shelter expenses rose 1.82 percent, propelled by higher rents, electricity rates and home repair costs, it said.
The core CPI, a more reliable long-term price tracker, increased 2.43 percent, a bit faster than November’s 2.39 percent gain after excluding volatile items such as vegetable and energy costs, it said.
The producer price index, which measures price changes from a seller’s viewpoint, weakened 0.42 percent, smaller than the revised 0.83 percent fall seen one month earlier, after CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) cut gas prices to corporate customers and prices for oil, coal, chemical and metal products dropped to reflect soft demand, it said.
The CPI would pose less of a threat to the economy this year. The DGBAS is predicting a 1.64 percent increase, slower than the central bank’s projection of 1.89 percent.
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