BANGKOK- Thailand’s inflation rate in February slowed from the previous month, as expected, and remained inside the central bank’s target range for a third straight month, commerce ministry data showed on Friday.
The moderation in the annual pace of inflation was driven by softer food and beverages and oil prices, the ministry said.
The headline consumer price index rose 1.08 percent in February from a year earlier, within the central bank’s target range of 1 percent to 3 percent, after January’s rise of 1.32 percent, the ministry said.
That was in line with a forecast rise of 1.10 percent in a Reuters poll.
The core CPI was up 0.99 percent in February year over year, a little above a forecast increase of 0.90 percent.
“There is a chance that this year’s inflation will be at the lower end of the (central bank’s) target range,” PoonpongNaiyanapakorn, director of the ministry’s trade policy and strategy office, told a press conference.
He said March’s inflation rate was expected to be close to February’s, and at 1.1 percent to 1.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. The rate would then drop to about 0.5 percent in the second quarter, he said, saying that reflected a high base last year.
The ministry maintained its headline inflation forecast of 0.3 percent to 1.3 percent in 2025, after last year’s rate of 0.40 percent.
Last week, the Bank of Thailand cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.00 percent, citing a weaker growth outlook and risks posed by global trade uncertainty, after repeated government calls for further easing to help a flagging economy.
The central bank said the bar is high for a further cut as the interest rate is consistent with the current economic outlook. The next monetary policy review is on April 30.
