PM makes known his disagreement with BOT rate hike
In a Facebook post on January 7, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expressed his disagreement with the Bank of Thailand’s decision to raise interest rates despite negative inflation.
The Prime Minister said that the move would hurt low-income people and businesses.
The Bank of Thailand raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.50% on December 21 to curb inflation, which is expected to rise to 2.5% in 2024.
However, inflation in Thailand has been negative for the past two months, falling in December to -0.3%. The PM Srettha said the Bank of Thailand should have waited to see how inflation developed before raising interest rates, as the rate hike will hurt low-income earners and small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
Srettha also said that the government is considering measures to help people who are struggling with the rising cost of living. These measures could include subsidies for essential goods and services.
