FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Inflation still in negative territory

Inflation still in negative territory

THAILAND’S Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.50 per cent year on year in February, marking the 14 straight month of declining prices.

Lower prices for fuel, public bus fares, electricity and cooking gas mit?igated the impact of higher prices of vegetables, fruits, meats and tobacco.
The Commerce Ministry believes domestic inflation will revert to pos?itive territory from the middle of this year.
Pimchanok Vonkhorporn, deputy director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, yesterday said the CPI stood at 105.62 points last month, which was 0.15 per cent high?er than in January but 0.50 per cent lower than in February last year.
The average inflation rate for the first two months of the year was 0.52 per cent lower than in the same peri?od last year.
As for the factors behind the 0.50-per-cent CPI decline last month, the sub-index for the non-food-and-beverage category dropped 1.45 per cent year on year, she said.
Major items such as fuel fell by 18.35 per cent, housing facilities were down 0.41 per cent, and communi?cations by 0.03 per cent. But shoes and garments rose by 0.46 per cent, medical care and personal services increased by 0.92 per cent, enter?tainment by 0.92 per cent, reading and education by 1.15 per cent, and tobacco and alcoholic beverages by 10.73 per cent.
Meanwhile, the sub-index for the foods and non-alcoholic beverages category increased by 1.26 per cent, because of an 8.51-per-cent rise in the prices of fresh vegetables and a 2.4-per-cent increase in fruit prices, while prices of meats were 1.52 per cent higher, year on year.
There was also a 0.76-per-cent rise in egg and dairy-product prices, a 0.55-per-cent rise in the price of foods consumed at home, and a 0.76-per-cent increase in prices of foods consumed outside the home.
However, the prices of rice, flour and flour products dropped by 0.21 per cent, while prices of food ingre?dients fell by 0.50 per cent from February last year, the official said.
The domestic CPI in February – excluding prices of fresh foods and energy – came in at 105.65 points, some 0.18 per cent higher than in the previous month, and 0.68 per cent higher than in February 2015.
 The year-on-year CPI rose by 0.63 per cent for January and February combined.
Pimchanok said the negative inflation was showing signs of slow?ing, because of the Thai economic recovery and the positive impact of the government’s economic stimulus measures.
While the rate is still expected to be negative until midyear, it is likely to be positive thereafter, leading to a slight positive full-year inflation fig?ure, she added.
The Commerce Ministry has revised down its projected inflation rate for this year to 0-1 per cent from the previous projection of 1-2 per cent, under the assumption of gross-domestic-product growth of 2.8-3.8 per cent.
Its previous GDP projection was for expansion of 3-4 per cent this year.
The ministry also now projects the price of Dubai crude oil at US$30-$40 per barrel this year, against $48-$54 a barrel before, but is keeping to its projection 36-38 for the baht/US dollar exchange rate, she explained.

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