BANGKOK- Thailand’s annual headline inflation rate quickened in July due to higher energy and food prices, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, but remained below the central bank’s target range of 1 percent to 3 percent .
The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.83 percent in July from a year earlier, after June’s annual increase of 0.62 percent , and compared with a forecast rise of 0.70 percent in a Reuters poll.
Inflation in August is expected to be close to July’s pace, PoonpongNaiyanapakorn, the director of the trade policy and strategy office, told a press conference.
In the first seven months of 2024, average annual headline inflation was 0.11 percent , and the commerce ministry has retained its forecast for the full year of between 0 percent to 1 percent .
The government’s 500 billion baht ($14 billion) handout scheme is not expected to lift product prices, Poonpong said.
“The government is looking at stimulating the economy, not increasing the cost of goods production,” he said.
The scheme, to be rolled out in the fourth quarter, entails transferring funds of 10,000 baht to 50 million recipients to spend in their localities within a six-month period.
The Bank of Thailand has said it expects headline inflation to return to the target range in the fourth quarter. It has kept its benchmark interest rate steady at a decade high of 2.50 percent despite government pressure to cut borrowing costs to spur economic growth.
