TAIPEI (Reuters) – Controlling inflation is not only about interest rate rises and all government departments regularly discuss what other policies to take, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Tuesday, with the pace of price increases at a near 10-year high.
Taiwan’s consumer price index was 3.39% higher in May than a year earlier. That inflation rate was the highest since August 2012 and exceeded the central bank’s 2% target for the 10th consecutive month.
Inflation is still slower than in the United States and Europe, however.
Speaking on local radio, Wang said curbing inflation should not only be dealt with by raising the policy interest rate, and ministries often discuss related policies and propose possible solutions.
Taiwan’s central bank holds its quarterly rate-setting meeting on Thursday.
All 19 economists in a Reuters poll expect the bank to raise the rate, with 10 predicting a rise to 1.5% and the other 9 seeing it going to 1.625%.
It is currently at 1.375%.
(Reporting by Jeanny Kao; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
