COST OF LIVING/Taiwan CPI grows 3.08% year-on-year in February

Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) grew 3.08 percent from a year earlier in February, mainly due to the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Thursday.

Prices of goods were pushed higher during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which was the major factor leading to the index jumping by its highest rate since August 2022, the DGBAS said.

The CPI growth rate averaged 2.43 percent in the January-February period, lower than the 2.70 percent recorded at the end of last year, suggesting inflationary pressure had eased, DGBAS specialist Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said.

The growth rate of a basket of 17 household staples, including rice, bread, and toilet paper, dropped to 3.17 percent last month, the lowest growth in more than two years, mainly because of a decrease in prices on the international market, he said.

However, the cost of eating out rose 0.48 percent month-on-month, the largest increase in 10 months, he added.

In February, Taiwan's core CPI, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services, excluding fruit/vegetables and energy, rose 2.9 percent year-on-year, DGBAS data showed.

Addressing what the impact of higher electricity rates on the CPI could be, Tsao said a 10 percent rise in household power price would result in a 0.09 percentage point growth rate in the index for 2024, given that rate adjustments are likely to be made in April at the earliest.

He added that the annual CPI was forecast to grow around 2 percent this year.

However, Tsao also noted that the costs of rent and dining out are expected to remain at current levels, meaning the CPI is unlikely to fall below the central bank's 2 percent target anytime soon.