《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Food prices lead CPI rise

COST OF LIVING: While inflation expanded by a milder 1.61 percent last month, some food prices, such as pork and fruit, increased by double-digit percentages

By Amy Su / Staff reporter

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The consumer price index （CPI） rose 1.61 percent last month from a year ago, slightly down from the 1.65 percent year-on-year increase recorded in April, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics （DGBAS） said in its monthly report.

However, food prices rose 4.18 percent year-on-year last month — posting the biggest increase among the seven major categories monitored by the DGBAS — as the prices of fruit, pork, seafood, eggs and grain products surged.

Pork prices soared 15.8 percent year-on-year last month, registering its biggest increase in nearly six years, while the prices of fruit, seafood, eggs and grain products rose by 13.55 percent, 8.88 percent, 8.48 percent and 3.03 percent respectively during the same period, the report said.

Surging food prices, in addition to rising operating costs, led more restaurants to raise their prices, which in turn boosted the average price of dining-out by 3.52 percent last month from a year earlier, marking its highest level in more than five years, the report’s data showed.

The prices of 17 major household essentials — mainly food products and daily necessities — monitored by the Cabinet also rose 7.81 percent last month from a year ago, marking their highest increase in 63 months.

The faster rise in the prices of food and household essentials has a larger impact on low-income households as these items comprise a large part of their expenses, Capital Investment Management Corp （群益投顧） said in its latest research report.

Despite the apparent increase in food prices, DGBAS Deputy Director Tsai Yu-tai （蔡鈺泰） said “the rising trend in consumer prices remained stable, without any unusual phenomena.”

The core CPI, which excludes vegetables, fruit and energy prices, climbed 1.46 percent last month from a year earlier — its highest level in more than one year — indicating that the prices of some durable goods, such as home appliances, also showed an upward trend, DGBAS data showed.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price index increased 1.17 percent last month from the same period last year, reaching its highest level for more than two years.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES