Thai inflation quickens in Oct but still below central bank target

BANGKOK : Thailand's annual headline inflation rate quickened in October due to higher energy and food prices, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, but still remained below the central bank's target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.83 per cent in October from a year earlier, the commerce ministry said. That was below a forecast rise of 0.94 per cent in a Reuters poll, and followed September's annual increase of 0.61 per cent. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.77 per cent in October from a year earlier, in line with a forecast rise of 0.79 per cent in the poll. For the January-October period, average annual headline inflation was 0.26 per cent, with core inflation at 0.52 per cent.

The commerce ministry maintained its full-year inflation forecast of 0.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent, and Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director of the ministry's trade policy and strategy office, told reporters the 2024 figure would likely come in under 0.5 per cent. Inflation is seen higher than 1 per cent in November and December, and so was expected to be about 1.12 per cent in the final quarter of 2024, Poonpong told a press conference.

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