Taiwan's CPI growth hits 11-month high in January

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) growth in January reached an 11-month high, largely due to higher costs for services including taxis and babysitting during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Friday.

DGBAS data showed that the January CPI grew 2.66 percent from a year earlier, well above the 2 percent alert set by the central bank. The January index was the highest since February 2024, when it hit 3.08 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, Taiwan's CPI rose 0.55 percent in January, or 0.25 percent after seasonal adjustments, the data showed.

The core CPI, which excludes vegetables, fruit and energy, rose 2.26 percent from a year earlier -- also higher than the 2 percent alert.

The DGBAS said miscellaneous costs -- including babysitter bonuses, higher taxi fares, and increased beauty salon and hotel prices -- rose 4.16 percent, which drove January CPI growth.

DGBAS specialist Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told reporters that those price spikes boosted the January CPI by 0.63 percentage points. He said without that rise, the CPI would have risen 2.03 percent and the core CPI 1.6 percent.

Food prices also increased by 3.72 percent from a year earlier in January with the cost of vegetables up 20.30 percent due to a relatively low comparison base over the same period of last year and strong demand before the Lunar New Year holiday.

In addition, the cost of fruits, edible oil, fishery items and meat rose 10.46 percent, 5.66 percent, 5.20 percent and 2.53 percent, respectively, in January, while dining out expenses also increased 3.17 percent, the highest growth in 10 months, the DGBAS said.

In January, 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, fell 0.78 percent from a year earlier. This marked the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year declines, following a drop in egg prices of around 20 percent, the DGBAS said.

Meanwhile, the DGBAS said that the producer price index (PPI) rose 3.87 percent from a year earlier in January largely due to an increase in the price of agricultural products, electronic parts, chemical materials and drugs, as well as higher electricity bills.

Tsao said February CPI growth is expected to moderate due to a relatively high comparison base over the same period last year.

Tsao added that the average CPI growth in February could be around 2 percent, indicating inflation in Taiwan remained stable.

In late November last year, the DGBAS forecast that the CPI would grow 1.93 percent in 2025.