As energy costs plummeted in September, data released on Wednesday revealed that consumer inflation rise in Thailand also slowed.
The Ministry of Commerce reports that the consumer price index (CPI), a widely followed measure of inflation, increased by 6.41 percent year over year in December, down from August’s 7.86 percent increase (the highest annual rate in 14 years).
Excluding volatile food and energy commodities, the core CPI increased 3.12% in September, down from 3.15 % in August.
The year-to-year change in the consumer price index (CPI) for the first nine months was 6.17%, which is much higher than the central bank’s goal range of 1-30% for headline inflation.
The ministry stated in a statement that the government’s efforts to stabilize energy and food prices might lead to additional declines in inflation in the last three months of this year. Inflation is predicted to reach between 5.5% and 6.5% this year.
To combat increasing inflation, the Bank of Thailand increased its benchmark policy rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 1.00 percent, on September 28.