Taipei: Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) in January rose 0.69 percent from a year earlier, marking the lowest level in five years, as reported by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) on Thursday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the core CPI, which excludes volatile items such as fruit, vegetables, and energy, increased by 1.24 percent from the previous year, remaining under the 2 percent inflation alert threshold set by the central bank. Tsao Chih-hung, a senior executive officer at DGBAS, attributed the moderate CPI growth to a relatively low comparison base from the previous year when the Lunar New Year holiday occurred. Excluding seasonal service-related price factors, the increase stayed below 1.5 percent, indicating stable overall price pressures.

DGBAS statistics revealed that the CPI for key goods rose by 3.12 percent year-on-year, the highest increase in nearly two years. Egg prices notably surged 18.31 percent year-on-year, the steepest climb in 33 months, primarily due to a more than 20 percent drop in egg prices during the same period last year, creating a low base for comparison.

Dining out expenses increased by 3.08 percent in January compared to the previous year. Despite the rise exceeding 3 percent for 15 consecutive months, the growth rate has started to ease. Tsao highlighted that the domestic goods price index has been in negative growth for 10 consecutive months, keeping upstream prices stable. This stability has helped contain manufacturers' costs from raw materials to intermediate inputs and, along with moderate goods prices, eased pressure on dining-out expenses.

Additionally, the year-on-year increase in rent in January fell below 2 percent, reaching 1.99 percent, the first drop to this level in two and a half years. Tsao projected that February's CPI growth might surpass January's, but the average for the first two months is anticipated to remain below 1.5 percent, suggesting that overall price pressures will continue to be stable.