The banknotes of the Thai baht (THB) (Photo: reuters.com) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce on April 5 announced that the country’s headline consumer price index rose 2.83% in March year-on-year, the lowest rate in 15 months due to lower energy and food prices.
The core CPI index was up 1.75% in March from a year ago, the slowest pace in 14 months and under a forecast increase of 1.82%.
Headline inflation returned to the Central Bank's target range of 1% to 3% for the first time in 15 months, and the commerce ministry expects it to remain within the range for the rest of this year.
Senior ministry official Wichanun Niwatjinda forecast that the headline inflation will fall further later this year, helped by lower oil prices and government support measures. The ministry also lower inflation from 2-3% to around 1.7-2.7%.
In an effort to curb inflation, the Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to raise policy rate by 0.25 percentage points from 1.5% to 1.75%.
The MPC also forecast that Thailand's economy is expected to grow by 3.6% -3.8% this year, up from 2.6% last year, supported by stronger private consumption and recovery in the tourism sector, among others./.
