NEW DELHI, November 6: Taiwan’s consumer prices rose 2.33% in October from a year earlier, while producer prices jumped 19.66% and import prices 26.72%, the island’s statistics agency, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), said on Thursday. The figures come a week after the agency’s advance estimate showed the economy grew 14.36% year on year in the third quarter.
Key highlights
- Q3 GDP: up 14.36% year on year (advance estimate) and 13.48% at a seasonally adjusted annualised rate.
- Consumer prices: up 2.33% year on year in October and 0.06% from September; core CPI up 2.23%.
- Producer prices: up 19.66% year on year and 1.48% from September.
- Trade prices: import prices up 26.72% and export prices up 26.38% in US dollar terms.
- Fuel: fuel and lubricant prices rose 15.17% because of developments in the Middle East and a low base.
| Indicator | October 2026 (y/y) | January–October 2026 (y/y) |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer price index | 2.33% | 1.98% |
| Core CPI (excluding fruit, vegetables and energy) | 2.23% | 2.17% |
| Producer price index | 19.66% | 11.12% |
| Import price index (US$) | 26.72% | 15.22% |
| Export price index (US$) | 26.38% | 18.66% |
What drove prices
DGBAS said consumer prices were pushed up mainly by eating out (up 3.01%) and fuel (up 15.17%), as well as airfares, package holidays, eggs (up 9.38%), fish and seafood (up 4.00%), rents (up 1.70%), and computers and mobile phones. Hotel charges fell because of weekday domestic travel discounts. Producer prices were driven by gas supply (up 65.06%), petroleum and coal products (up 56.34%), and computers, electronic and optical products (up 37.82%), while farm products fell 4.71%.
Our calculation
- Producer prices are rising more than eight times as fast as consumer prices (19.66% against 2.33%), which means firms are absorbing much of the cost increase for now.
- Export prices (26.38%) are rising almost as fast as import prices (26.72%), so Taiwan’s terms of trade are roughly holding up despite costlier energy.
What it means
Taiwan is riding the global boom in artificial intelligence hardware, which the government has credited for its strong growth this year; producer prices of computers and electronic products rose 37.82% in October. At the same time, energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict are feeding into prices. For India, Taiwan is a major supplier of chips and electronics components, and rising prices there can raise costs for Indian electronics makers.
What to watch
- The next price release on December 8, covering November.
- Taiwan’s central bank response to the gap between producer and consumer prices.
The Taipei skyline with Taipei 101. Image: Dan Nevill, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo source · Licence
Sources
- DGBAS: The Price Indices for October 2026 (November 5, 2026)
- DGBAS: GDP Advance Estimate of 2026Q3 (October 30, 2026)
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