Inflation in Taiwan accelerated to 1.75 percent in February. But it's
expected to remain below the 2 percent warning threshold in March, despite
rising oil prices driven by war in the Middle East.

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said the
consumer price index rose from 0.7 percent in January, citing higher charges
in the service sector during the Lunar New Year as partly responsible for the
uptick.

Core CPI, which excludes fruit, vegetables and energy, rose 2.6 percent on
year from 1.2 percent in January.

The stats agency said dining-out costs rose 2.8 percent on year, ending a
15-month streak of increases of more than 3 percent.

The average increase in rent in February was 1.85 percent, continuing a
slowdown from January, when the increase was 1.99 percent following a
29-month stretch of growth.

Eggs surged 28 percent while pork rose 6.7 percent, the largest increases in
the CPI food basket.

The stats agency says the government has implemented several measures to
stabilize oil prices, including tax reductions on imports of certain
essential raw materials, as well as gasoline and petroleum, to keep Taiwan's
fuel prices lower than those of neighboring countries.

CNA_JvW