FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Thai central bank expected to keep policy interest rate unchanged

Thai central bank expected to keep policy interest rate unchanged

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is expected to maintain its key policy interest rate despite the high domestic inflation, Krungthai Bank’s market analyst, Poon Panichpibool, said on Thursday.

He said the high inflation rate would not pressure the BOT to raise the interest rate even though many other central banks had done so.

It is because the price increases in Thailand have affected only a limited number of goods, he explained.

In April, the increase in Thailand’s general inflation slowed down from the first months of the year. The prices of energy products are stabilising although most food items have seen price increases, he noted.

Poon, a strategist on capital and monetary markets at the state-run commercial bank, expected the Thai baht to continue depreciating due to factors like the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The US Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) recently resolved to raise its policy interest rate by 0.50 per cent, as expected earlier. However, Fed chairman Jerome Powell gave no signs there would be a further increase in the policy interest rate, as was the concern in the markets previously.

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