Taipei Times
Date: Feb 09, 2017
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The consumer price index (CPI) last month rose 2.25 percent year-on-year, its fastest rise in 11 months, as service providers raised charges over the Lunar New Year holiday and fuel cost hikes neared 30 percent, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

The inflationary gauge might stabilize slightly this month as holiday disruptions decrease, while an increase in energy costs is expected to linger due to a low base of comparison for the whole of last year, the statistics agency said.

“Babysitters, hairdressers, taxi drivers and retail service providers raised charges steeply over the Lunar New Year holiday in keeping with tradition,” DGBAS Deputy Director Tsai Yu-tai (蔡鈺泰) said at a news conference.

Together, miscellaneous expenses lifted CPI by 0.44 percentage points, while entertainment and educational costs contributed 0.3 percentage points, Tsai said.
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