MILD INFLATION:Lower prices for computer products and telecommunication services helped mitigate the pain of higher food and medical costs, the DGBAS said

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 09, 2017
B:y Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The consumer price index (CPI) picked up 0.77 percent last month from a year earlier as two typhoons and hot weather pushed up vegetable prices, even though consumer electronics products cost less, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

The inflationary gauge edged up 0.21 percent last month after seasonal adjustments, suggesting stable consumer prices and giving the central bank room to hold monetary policy steady to support the economy.

Food costs, which account for 25 percent of the CPI weighting, gained 1.23 percent, driven mainly by a 7.03 percent increase in vegetable prices, the DGBAS report showed.

“The hot weather is unfavorable for growing vegetables and the two typhoons last month further disrupted supply,” DGBAS senior executive officer Jasmine Mei (梅家瑗) told a media briefing.    [FULL  STORY]