《TAIPEI TIMES》 CPI increases to highest in more than eight years

CITING SEASONALITY: A DGBAS report showed consumer price increases in almost all categories, led by 32.3% for airfares and 24.88% for oil products

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

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The consumer price index （CPI） last month rose 2.63 percent from a year earlier to the highest in more than eight years, boosted by increasing fuel, airfare and food costs, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics （DGBAS） said yesterday.

For the second straight month, the inflationary gauge climbed above the central bank’s 2 percent alert level, but DGBAS officials said that consumer prices remained stable.

“Low bases and unfavorable seasonality account for the CPI hike,” which is not expected to persist, DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung （曹志弘） told a news conference in Taipei.

Increasing international oil prices are expected to bolster prices of imported goods, Tsao said, adding that the agency is monitoring the situation.

After seasonal adjustment, the CPI only gained 0.51 percent, he added.

The central bank last month said that increasing inflationary pressure in international markets is temporary and not a problem for Taiwan, as the nation does not boost its economy by overly easy monetary policies.

Still, the DGBAS report showed price increases in almost all consumption categories, led by a 7.2 percent gain in transportation and communications costs.

In particular, airfare skyrocketed 32.3 percent year-on-year, while oil product prices climbed 24.88 percent, more than offsetting a 9.8 percent decline in telecommunication equipment prices, it said.

Food costs grew 3.55 percent, the report said, attributing the increase to vegetable and fruit supply still being affected by disruptions due to bad weather from June to August.

Meanwhile, meat prices increased 5.89 percent, while fish prices gained 3.16 percent, it said.

Entertainment and education prices rose 2.84 percent, as recreational facilities and travel agencies raised prices during the Mid-Autumn Festival, expecting heightened demand amid an easing COVID-19 situation, the DGBAS said.

Clothing prices rose 1.67 percent after garment retailers increased prices by 2.55 percent, it said.

Prices for miscellaneous items fell a fractional 0.08 percent, weighed by weakening gold and jewelry prices, it said.

The core CPI, a more reliable long-term price tracker that excludes volatile items, showed a noticeable 1.74 percent increase, from a mild 1.32 percent gain in August, it said.

The wholesale price index, which measures production costs, increased 11.96 percent, as prices of raw materials, as well as base metal, plastic and chemical products, increased amid an improving global economy, the DGBAS said.

In the first nine months of the year, the CPI expanded 1.74 percent, while the wholesale price index gained 7.93 percent, it said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES