After Q1 inflation of 3.09%, Commerce predicts full-year level below 3.4%
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The Commerce Ministry is confident inflation this year will not surge beyond 3.4 per cent as goods prices are expected to remain calm, leaving breathing room for a cut in the policy interest rate to curb the baht's appreciation.
“The situation next year should not be tense because most goods prices will be unchanged, as the cost of production is stable. Market competition will also help control the cost of living this year,” permanent secretary Vatchari Vimooktayon said Monday.
The year-on-year rise in the Consumer Price Index slowed last month to 2.69 per cent from 3.23 per cent in February. Month on month, inflation was 0.07 per cent, mainly on higher food prices.
Last quarter, the CPI climbed 3.09 per cent year on year. The inflation rate is projected to stay at 3.1 per cent this quarter.
The Nation
