In May, Taiwan's food prices rose 5.8% in comparison with the year earlier. Fruit and vegetables prices were driven up by weather conditions: fruit prices jumped 31%, while vegetable prices rose 20%. Food prices have a weighting of around 25% in Taiwan's consumer price index and the higher food prices contributed to consumer prices increasing for the ninth straight month in May. However, the overall rate of inflation slowed, government data showed Tuesday 7 June.
The consumer price index rose 1.24% in May from a year earlier, the government's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said Tuesday. The reading was lower than a median forecast for a 1.6% increase by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The figure was also lower than a revised 1.87% rise in April.
The wholesale price index, a gauge of production costs, dropped by 2.80% in May from a year earlier. Economists had expected a drop of 4.0%. The WPI fell a revised 4.18% in April.
Source: marketwatch.com