Taiwan's CPI Dips 39-Year Record 2.33% in July

Taipei, Aug. 10, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) dropped an annual 2.33% in July, the largest fall since November 1970 or in 39 years. Likewise, the wholesale price index (WPI) dipped a record 14.11%, according to the Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

In the same month the core CPI, excluding prices of fresh vegetables, fruits and fish as well as energy, dropped the second consecutive monthly 0.93%, the largest of its kind since July 2003. Insiders say the sharp declines in CPI and WPI might fuel deflation on the island.

The July CPI stood at 104.28, edging up 0.19% from a month earlier and a new high in six months. However, the figure is still lower than the 106-plus figure recorded from July to November of last year, due to the high international oil prices.

The July WPI posted at 102.21 for a monthly rise of 1.05%, a new high in eight months. Compared to the same month of last year, WPI of products sold domestically and locally-made products for Taiwan dived 16.26% and 16.58%, respectively, both were the largest drops of their kinds.

Influenced by economic downturn, the turnover posted by F&B outlets (dining-out expenditures) saw an annual growth of negative 0.2% in July, the first fall since June 2004.

In the first seven months of this year the CPI dipped an annual 0.71%. Polaris Research Institute, a prestigious private think tank here, predicted in June that Taiwan's CPI might drop an annual 0.96% in the fourth quarter of the year, but reversed the prediction early this month, saying the CPI growth is very likely to turn positive for the quarter.