Taiwan's consumer price inflation eased less-than-expected in October, though slightly, data released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics showed on Tuesday.
Exports declined for the second straight month in October, preliminary official data from the Ministry of Finance revealed.
Consumer prices rose 2.72 percent year-on-year in October, just below the 2.76 percent increase in September. Economists had forecast inflation to drop to 2.70 percent.
The price index for eggs grew 34.53 percent annually in October and that for fish and seafood rose 6.51 percent.
Prices for food away from home increased 6.40 percent, while the cost of communication equipment declined 5.45 percent.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.12 percent in October, after a 0.05 percent mild rise in the previous month.
Data showed that the wholesale price inflation softened to 11.09 percent in October from 12.23 percent in the previous month.
Exports dropped 0.5 percent year-over-year in October, following a 5.3 percent decline in the previous month. Nonetheless, that was well below the 6.0 percent fall expected by economists.
Exports of plastics, rubber and articles thereof logged the steepest fall of 28.7 percent annually in October. This was closely followed by a 27.6 percent decline in base metals and articles of base metals.
At the same time, exports of electronic product parts rose notably by 15.9 percent.
Imports climbed 8.2 annually in October, in contrast to a 2.4 percent decrease a month ago. Imports were expected to fall by 3.5 percent.
The trade surplus shrank to $2.985 billion in October from $5.975 billion in the corresponding month last year. The expected surplus was $4.90 billion.
