Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) was up in May by 1.61% over the same month last year. That’s the word from the government’s statistics office on Thursday.
The statistics office said the increase reflected price hikes in meat, fruit, fishery products, eggs, cooking oil, and grain. Deputy Director Tsai Yu-tai from the statistics office said the rising cost of dining out also contributed to the higher consumer prices this month.
“The cost of dining out rose by 3.52% in May, the sharpest increase in 63 months," said Tsai. "This is due to the rising price of ingredients, meat, vegetables, and electricity. Restaurant owners also adjusted their prices upward according to market demand.”
In addition, the core CPI, which excludes vegetables, fruit and fuel, rose 1.46% from a year earlier. This is sharpest increase in 15 months. Production costs measured by the wholesale price index rose 1.17% over the same month last year, the largest increase in 27 months.