Thailand’s inflation rate is lower than expected in the previous year, marking the lowest inflation rate in five years, reported an official of the Ministry of Commerce.

According to the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) Director-General Somkiat Triratpan, the Consumer Price Index of December 2014 was at 106.65, increasing by a mere 0.6 percent. December's CPI marks the eight consecutive month of deceleration since May 2014.

He said that the factors for the low inflation are the lower prices of meat and vegetables, as well as the petrol retail price drop.

The year 2014 saw increases of the pricing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages by 3.16 percent; meat products by 4.42 percent, vegetables by 3.2 percent, and seasonings prices by 3.6 percent.
Meanwhile in other categories, the pricing of non-food and drinks decreased by 0.74 percent; fuel has decreased by 14.55 percent, and energy has decreased by 7.41 percent.

These combined factors caused the inflation rate of 2014 to remain at 1.89 percent, which is lower than predicted by the Ministry of Commerce at 2-2.8 percent, said the TPSO Director-General.

The TPSO Director-General has also revealed that the Ministry of Commerce has expected to see a 1.8-2.5 percent inflation rate in 2015 if the global oil price stays between the margin of 90-110 USD per barrel. The expected inflation rate will be revised again if the global oil price falls below the expected margin.-VNA