BANGKOK, Sept 28 — Thailand’s central bank on Wednesday raised its key policy rate for a second straight meeting, by 0.25 percentage point, in an effort to curb the rising inflation and support economic recovery, reported Xinhua.
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise the policy rate from 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent, effective immediately.
The move came after a 0.25-percentage-point rate hike announced at the monetary policy committee meeting on Aug 10, the country’s first rate hike since late 2018.
In Wednesday’s statement, the committee said “a gradual policy normalisation remains an appropriate course for monetary policy” as the economic recovery continues to strengthen following a larger-than-expected number of foreign tourist arrivals, while headline inflation remains at a high level.
“Although the risk of global slowdown has heightened, the impact on the Thai economy would be limited,” it said, warning risks about the impact of rising living costs on private consumption.
The BOT maintained its economic growth forecast of 3.3 per cent for 2022 but cut its growth projection for 2023 to 3.8 per cent from 4.2 per cent it made in June.
The central bank said the inflation outlook is still subject to upside risks. It expected the inflation growth to stand at 6.3 per cent this year, up from a projection of 6.2 per cent it made in June, before declining to 2.6 per cent in 2023.
Fueled by surging energy and food prices, Thailand’s consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 7.86 per cent year on year in August, the highest level since July 2008, far above the central bank’s target range of 1-3 per cent set for this year.
— Bernama
