TAIPEI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose by 2.66 percent year on year in August, the lowest monthly increase during the past six months, according to data released by the island's statistics agency on Tuesday.
The index measuring the price change of 17 consumer goods that are closely related to people's daily lives, such as eggs and salad oil, remained high at 5.38 percent, said the agency, attributing the CPI growth to the increasing prices of necessities, such as fruit, eating-out fees, meat, houseware and rent.
Food prices rose by 4.86 percent year on year, with egg prices rocketing by 33.29 percent and fruit prices up 15.04 percent. This was followed by clothing expenses which increased by 3.11 percent, and transportation and communication costs which climbed by 2.90 percent.
The average CPI for the first eight months this year rose by 3.10 percent year on year, while the average producer price index during the same period surged by 11.86 percent year on year, the agency added.
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