The consumer price index (CPI) last month grew 1.69 percent from a year earlier, the lowest in 3.5 years and below the central bank’s 2 percent target for the second straight month, as food, service and shelter prices rose at a moderate pace, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
“Consumer prices held generally stable and displayed no signs of an evident upswing going forward, although service charges remained elevated,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said.
The inflation gauge might climb higher this month due to Typhoon Kong-rey, but is unlikely to exceed 2 percent, as autumn and winter are harvest season, Tsao said.
Photo: CNA
Food costs, the largest chunk of the CPI weighting, gained 2.7 percent year-on-year, as storms and heavy rainfalls damaged crops, pushing up fruit and vegetable prices, Tsao said.
However, prices for the 17 critical livelihood items the government monitors declined by 0.62 percent year-on-year to the lowest level in 56 months, he said.
Core CPI, a preferred long-term price tracker by the central bank because it excludes volatile items, expanded 1.64 percent, the statistics agency said.
Still, people might feel the pinch more acutely because rents advanced 2.5 percent from a year earlier and eating-out costs moved up 2.96 percent, Tsao said.
Tsao dismissed worry over an upcoming resurgence of inflation following former US president Donald Trump’s electoral victory, saying that it would take several months for policy changes, if any, to affect commodity prices.
Moreover, end-market demand for fuel and raw materials appeared soft, judging from the latest trade data, he added.
This followed a 0.69 percent drop in last month’s producer price index (PPI), a measure of the price movements of goods from a seller’s perspective, thanks to falling prices of oil, coal, electronics and chemical products amid weak market demand, the DGBAS said.
The PPI trajectory also reflected an imbalanced recovery in Taiwan’s economy, where suppliers of electronics used in artificial intelligence are flourishing, but non-tech manufacturers have wobbled.
In the first 10 months of this year, the CPI picked up 2.19 percent, while the PPI rose 1.23 percent from a year earlier, the DGBAS said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
DOWNFALL: The Singapore-based oil magnate Lim Oon Kuin was accused of hiding US$800 million in losses and leaving 20 banks with substantial liabilities Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin (林恩強) has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (興隆貿易) and his children Lim Huey Ching (林慧清) and Lim Chee Meng (林志朋) were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on Dec. 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte Ltd are the trustees, according to the gazette. At its peak, Hin Leong traded a range of oil products, made lubricants and operated loading
The growing popularity of Chinese sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks has shaken up Mexico’s luxury car market, hitting sales of traditionally dominant brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Mexicans are increasingly switching from traditionally dominant sedans to Chinese vehicles due to a combination of comfort, technology and price, industry experts say. It is no small feat in a country home to factories of foreign brands such as Audi and BMW, and where until a few years ago imported Chinese cars were stigmatized, as in other parts of the world. The high-end segment of the market registered a sales drop
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
RSS