八月份消費者物價指數穩定

以下新聞轉載自China Post

August CPI should be stable: DGBAS

TAIPEI -- Taiwan is expected to report only small fluctuations in consumer prices for August, although there were brief spikes in fruit and vegetable prices toward the end of the month when Typhoon Nanmadol hit the country, a government agency said yesterday.



While fruit and vegetable prices rose due to the typhoon damage, they quickly returned to normal as the effects of the storm were limited to southern and eastern Taiwan, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said, citing Council of Agriculture statistics.

According to the Central Emergency Operation Center, the agricultural losses from Typhoon Nanmadol were an estimated NT$33 million (US$1.14 million) at the end of August.

The DGBAS is scheduled to release the August consumer price index (CPI) data Monday, Sept. 5.

In July, Taiwan's CPI rose 1.32 percent from a year earlier, largely on higher food prices and more expensive fuel costs, while the core index, which excludes fish and energy products, grew 1.11 percent year-on-year.

In the first seven months of this year, the CPI gained 1.43 percent and the core index rose 1.01 percent.

Looking ahead, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said consumer prices in the second half of this year are expected to remain stable.

Hu Chung-ying, vice minister of the CEPD, said Friday that with global demand weakening, crude oil prices were hovering around US$85 per barrel and were not expected to rise much in the near future, a positive signal for consumer prices worldwide.

Hu said moderate raw material prices are expected to limit the growth of local consumer prices.

Unless Taiwan suffers more severe typhoon damage in September, consumer prices will face little upward pressure in the second half of this year, Hu said.

In mid-August, the DGBAS lowered its growth forecast for Taiwan's CPI for 2011 to 1.59 percent from its estimate of 1.89 percent made in July, citing the global economic slowdown.

生字

fluctuation                                          noun    波動
spike                                                  noun    急遽升高
Directorate General of Budget        p.n.      行政院主計處
agricultural                                         adj.      農業的
consumer price index                       p.n.      消費者物價指數
CEPD                                                p.n.      行政院經濟建設委員會
minister                                              noun    部長
crude oil                                             ph.       原油
barrel                                                  noun    桶
moderate                                           adj.       適度的