Rising energy and food costs contributed to a 5.89% annual increase in Thailand’s headline consumer price index (CPI) in December, which was in line with expert projections but higher than the prior month.
In contrast to the 5.9% gain predicted by Reuters poll participants, the index rose only 5.45% in November.
Despite slowing, the rate is still much higher than the 1% to 3% range set by the Bank of Thailand (BOT), increasing the likelihood that the BOT would raise its key interest rate at its upcoming meeting on January 25.
The Core Consumer Price Index rose 3.23 percent in December from the same month a year ago, which is slightly above the 3.28 percent increase that economists had predicted.
A 24-year high in headline CPI growth of 6.08% was seen in 2022, while a more modest gain of 2.51% was seen in the core CPI.
Since the base is so large and the global economy is slowing, we anticipate headline inflation to fall to 2% to 3% in 2023.
Despite the low base from the first quarter of 2017, we expect the index to stay elevated, albeit it should not exceed 5%, in the first quarter of 2018.
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