Thailand headline inflation quickens in September, still below central bank target

THAILAND’S annual headline inflation quickened in September due mainly to higher prices of diesel and some vegetables, the commerce ministry said on Monday (Oct 7), and was still below the central bank’s target range of 1 to 3 per cent.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.61 per cent in September from a year earlier, after August’s annual increase of 0.35 per cent, and missed a forecast rise of 0.8 per cent in a Reuters poll.

The headline inflation rate for South-east Asia’s second-largest economy is expected to be 1.25 per cent in October and about 1.49 per cent in the final quarter of 2024, said Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director of the trade policy and strategy office, at a press conference.

In the January to September period, average annual headline inflation was 0.2 per cent. The commerce ministry on Monday revised its forecast for the full year to between 0.2 to 0.8 per cent, from between 0 and 1 per cent seen earlier.

The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.77 per cent in September from a year earlier, and slightly beat the poll forecast for a rise of 0.72 per cent. REUTERS