News
Inflation continues to rise in April
By ECCT staff writers, DGBAS
Several measures of inflation in Taiwan showed continued increases in April in line with global trends. Taiwan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 3.38% in April 2022, compared with the same month of 2021. It was the second consecutive month that the CPI was over 3%. According to a news release by the Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), the increase was attributed mainly to the increase in the index for fuels and lubricants, which rose 14.92% on the back of rising international oil prices. In addition, the index for vegetables rose 27.70% due to the bad weather while the indices for eggs and meats rose 21.39% and 5.90% due to increased feeding costs. Moreover, the indices for fruits, food away from home, household appliances, as well as residential rent rose 13.74%, 5.56%, 3.30%, and 1.22%, respectively. However, the index for communication equipment fell 4.71%, offsetting part of the increase. The core CPI increased 2.53%.
For the first four months of 2022, the CPI increased 2.95% over the same period of 2021. The index for commodity and service moved up 4.06% and 2.03%, respectively. The core CPI increased 2.27%, according to the DGBAS.
The same news release also reported that Taiwan’s Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 12.99% in April 2022, compared with the same month of 2021. The indices for petroleum and coal products, basic metals, fabricated metal products, as well as electronic parts and components rose 50.05%, 23.76%, 22.29%, and 8.84%, respectively. Moreover, the index for chemical material, other chemical products and pharmaceuticals rose 11.59%. For the first four months of 2022, the PPI increased 11.74% over the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) increased by 15.07% in April on a year-on-year basis. According to the DGBAS, the indices for quarrying and mining products, petroleum and coal products, basic metals, as well as electronic parts and components rose60.91%, 56.50%, 25.46%, and 10.30%, respectively. The index for chemical material, other chemical products and pharmaceuticals also rose 14.01%. The price index for domestic sales excluding imports (DPI) increased 12.26%, import price index (IPI) and export price index (EPI) also rose 18.66% and 13.94%, respectively. For the first four months of 2022, the WPI increased 13.20% over the same period of previous year. The DPI, IPI and EPI rose 11.62%, 15.63% and 12.16%, respectively, according to the DGBAS.
