Inflation in Thailand falls to 0.30% in September, lowest in Southeast Asia
Inflation in Thailand fell to 0.30% in September, down from 0.88% in August, due mainly to lower energy prices backed by government subsidies and a decline in food prices, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said on Thursday that the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 108.02 in September, compared to 107.70 in the same month last year.
He said Thailand’s inflation rate was the lowest among seven countries in Southeast Asia that reported their CPI data – the others are Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
He noted that inflation had tended to slow down in many countries around the world, particularly in Europe, including the UK, Italy, and Germany.
For the fifth consecutive month, Thailand’s inflation has been below the target of 1-3% set by the Bank of Thailand. In the first nine months of the year, the headline CPI rose at an average of 1.82% and core inflation increased 1.5% from the same period a year earlier.
According to the Commerce Ministry, inflation slowed down in September due to a decline in food prices and lower energy prices resulting from government support measures on diesel and gas.
The CPI of food products and non-alcoholic beverages fell for the first time in 23 months by 0.10% year on year as the prices of meat, vegetables, and cooking oil were on a constant decline.
The Commerce Ministry predicted a further slowdown in inflation in the last quarter of this year, as the prices of food, energy and other daily goods have decreased.
As a result, the ministry has lowered the inflation forecast made in July for 2023 from 1.0-2.0% to 1.0-1.7%.
Meanwhile, the consumer confidence index (CCI) in September improved to 55.7 from 53.4 in the previous month, according to the ministry. It marked the 10th successive month of rising CCI since December 2022.
The ministry attributed the improvement to the economic recovery, particularly following the increase in tourist arrivals due to the government’s visa-free policy for visitors from China and Kazakhstan, and other economic stimulus measures by the new Thai government.
