TAIPEI, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew marginally by 0.18 percent on a yearly basis in March, mainly on account of a rise in fruit, transportation and communication prices, the island's statistics agency said Thursday.
Transportation and communications costs rose 2.78 percent in March, largely led by double-digit growth in long-distance bus fares and fuel prices. The rise was partially offset by declines in Internet and mobile phone fees.
Food prices dropped 1.72 percent year-on-year in March, mainly due to vegetable and eggs price drops, this was partially offset by fruit and aquatic product price hikes.
Compared with the previous month, the CPI, a main gauge of inflation, dropped by 0.37 percent in March.
The core CPI, which excludes vegetables, fruit and energy, rose by 0.95 percent year-on-year, the agency said, while the January Wholesale Price Index (WPI), a gauge of production costs, increased by 1.84 percent from a year earlier.
