COST OF LIVING/Taiwan's CPI up 2.52% as typhoon sends food prices higher

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.52 percent from a year earlier in July, up on a year-on-year increase of 2.42 percent in June, after Typhoon Gaemi pushed up fruit and vegetable prices, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Tuesday.

DGBAS data showed the July CPI growth continued to top the 2 percent alert set by the local central bank. The July figure was also the highest since February, when CPI growth hit 3.08 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the local CPI rose 0.19 percent, and after seasonal adjustments, the index also grew 0.09 percent, the DGBAS's data indicated.

The core CPI, which excludes fruit, vegetables and energy, rose 1.84 percent from a year earlier in July, below the 2 percent alert, according to the DGBAS.

In the first seven months of this year, the CPI rose 2.30 percent from a year earlier, with the core CPI up 1.99 percent year-on-year, the DGBAS said.

In July, food prices rose 4.57 percent from a year earlier after bad weather cut vegetable supplies and boosted prices by 8.58 percent from a year earlier.

Furthermore, fruit prices soared 27.23 percent, a new high in two years, due to the impact of the storm and also due to a relatively low comparison base over the same period last year, the DGBAS said.

In addition, prices of cooking oil rose 4.99 percent and dining out costs grew 2.77 percent, but egg prices fell 16.27 percent, capping the overall upturn of food prices, the DGBAS added.

Speaking with reporters, DGBAS specialist Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said Gaemi, which hit Taiwan in late July, resulted in about NT$2.25 billion (US$68.81 million) in agricultural losses. Its impact on prices is expected to continue into August, with vegetable and fruit prices likely to continue rising.

In July, living costs rose 2.31 percent from a year earlier after electricity rates, house maintenance expenses and rents rose 5.21 percent, 2.89 percent and 2.51 percent, respectively, according to the DGBAS.

Tsao said although rent growth in July moderated from an increase of 2.59 percent in June, there was no immediate sign that rents would decrease.

The cost of a basket of 17 government-monitored household necessities, including rice, pork, bread, eggs, sugar, cooking oil, instant noodles, shampoo and toilet paper, rose 0.06 percent from a year earlier in July after a 0.14 percent fall in June, the DGBAS said.

The cost of the 17 household items largely reflected cheaper flour, eggs, salad oil, fresh milk and toilet paper, the DGBAS added.

In July, the producer price index (PPI) rose 3.74 percent from a year earlier largely due to an increase in prices of agricultural products after the typhoon hit, as well as chemical materials, drugs, computers, electronics/optoelectronics devices and electronics components, the DGBAS said.

The import price index rose 4.27 percent from a year earlier in July in Taiwan dollar terms but dropped 0.40 percent in U.S. dollar terms, while the export price index rose 4.89 percent in Taiwan dollar terms and also grew 0.21 percent in U.S. dollar terms, the data showed.

In the first seven months of the year, the PPI rose 1.72 percent from a year earlier, according to the DGBAS.