Inflation tops central bank’s alert level - Taipei Times

FUEL-DRIVEN:

Last month’s 2.2% growth breached the bank’s 2% alert level, with communications and transportation prices rising 4% due to higher crude oil costs

Staff writer, with CNA

Consumer price index (CPI) growth last month topped a 2 percent alert level set by the central bank largely due to a spike in crude oil prices amid military conflicts in the Middle East, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.Data compiled by the DGBAS showed that CPI rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier last month after a 1.73 percent increase in April, the first time inflation breached 2 percent since April last year, when it grew 2.03 percent.Core CPI, which excludes fruit, vegetables and energy, rose 2.12 percent from a year earlier, also above the 2 percent alert, the data showed.

A man operates a self-service pump to refhis car in Taipei on April 11.