TAIPEI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan's central bank said on Friday it is watching inflation and there is no cause for alarm, but added it will adopt "appropriate" monetary policies if needed.
In a Facebook post, the central bank said that major institutions predict Taiwan's consumer price index, or CPI, will not exceed 2% for all of this year, and will decline next year.
"There should be no worry about domestic inflation rising continuously," it said.
"Maintaining price stability is the main responsibility of the bank. The bank will continue to monitor domestic price trends, grasp the overall development situation of inflation, and adopt appropriate monetary policies," it added, without elaborating.
At its quarterly meeting last month, the central bank said it expected full year CPI to rise 1.7% in 2021 and then expand by a slower 0.92% in 2022.
CPI rose 2.63% year-on-year in September.
Taiwan's benchmark interest rate is at its lowest on record - 1.125%, having been cut in March of last year as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite.
The central bank holds its next quarterly meeting in mid-December. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard Editing by Mark Heinrich)