Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith (Photo: bangkokpost.com) Arkhom said the Bank of Thailand (BoT) has adjustedits policy in line with the needs of the domestic economy instead of pursuing the strong monetary tightening pace of the US Federal Reserve (FED).
The central bank’s interest rate adjustments have been reasonable, not following theFED but consistent with Thailand’s economy, Arkhom said.
Raisingrates too much will sharply drag down the economy that is getting better, hesaid, adding monetary policy must ensure the economy will fully recover.
BoT hasraised the key rate by a total of 100 basis points since August 2022 to 1.50%.But its tightening cycle has been less aggressive than many regional peers, asThailand’s economic recovery has lagged other Southeast Asian countries as thetourism sector only started to rebound last year.
Arkhomsaid Thai gross domestic product may beat a forecast of 3.8% growth this yearon a rebound in tourism. The number of tourists to the Southeast Asian nation ispredicted to beat forecast of 27.5 million this year.
Last year, Thailand served 11.15 foreign tourist arrivals. The country’sGDP growth in the fourthquarter of 2022 was estimated at 2.8% on the year and 0.2% on the quarter./.
VNA
