The consumer price index (CPI) last month advanced 2.52 percent from a year earlier, as summer vacations boosted entertainment costs, while bad weather pushed up food prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The inflationary measure rose above the central bank’s 2 percent target after two months of easing, raising the shadow of monetary tightening ahead of the body’s policy meeting on Sept. 21.
DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said that the CPI’s resurgence was due to sustained strong demand for entertainment and leisure, while two typhoons disrupted the vegetable market, raising prices.
Photo: CNA
“Stripping away the weather factor, the CPI would have risen just 1.88 percent as it had in July,” Tsao said, calling the inflationary pressures weather-driven and transient.
CPI readings could hover at similar levels this month, as poor weather lingers, but a high comparison base last year would help, he said.
The central bank in June kept interest rates unchanged, but indicated that it would tighten it again if necessary. Most researchers have said that interest rates would stay put for the rest of this year given Taiwan’s moderate inflation and economic slowdown.
The core CPI — a more reliable long-term price tracker because it excludes volatile energy, fruit and vegetable costs — grew 2.56 percent, the slowest in five months and might mitigate as summer vacations come to an end, Tsao said.
The inflationary measure after seasonal adjustments rose 0.18 percent, affirming stable consumer prices, the agency said.
Entertainment and education prices were the main inflation drivers, with a 3.62 percent gain from a year earlier, its latest report found, adding that recreational charges increased 9.11 percent.
Food costs, the largest CPI component, rose 3.46 percent year-on-year after Typhoon Doksuri and Tropical Storm Khanun damaged crops in late July and early last month, Tsao said.
Prices for miscellaneous items rose 2.53 percent, as domestic helpers, jewelry and personal accessories, as well as cosmetic and beauty products grew more expensive, the report showed.
Health and medicine prices increased 2.34 percent, while shelter costs rose 1.77 percent, it said.
Transportation and communication costs rose 1.68 percent, as international oil prices increased 4.32 percent, but local public transportation passes helped lower prices, Tsao said.
The producer price index (PPI), which measures price changes from a seller’s perspective, declined 0.06 percent due to price changes among energy, mineral, metal and chemical products, the DGBAS said.
In the first eight months, the CPI expanded 2.29 percent, while the PPI contracted 0.68 percent, the agency said.
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