Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3.05% in October, the highest since February, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
Taiwan Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said in the Legislature on Thursday that the increase was mainly due to the impact of Typhoon Haiku. He says the central bank will continue to monitor inflation and believes the current rate is still relatively moderate compared to other countries. Yang says that if vegetables, fruits, and energy were excluded, the core CPI would rise only by 2.49%.
Yang says that although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Taiwan's economic growth rate will not reach 1% this year, he believes that this forecast is incorrect. He says that the IMF may not fully understand Taiwan's economic structure, and has underestimated Taiwan’s economic performance in the past. He predicts that Taiwan's GDP growth will be between 1% to 1.5% this year, with growth accelerating further next year.