Thai Monetary Policy Should Remain Accommodative: Central Bank
Bangkok. Thailand's central bank said on Thursday (18/01) that its monetary policy committee thought monetary policy should remain accommodative to support economic growth and help inflation get back to the target range.
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) forecast headline inflation at 1.1 percent for 2018, and for consumer prices to return to the 1 percent to 4 percent target range in the first half of the year, it said in an open letter to the finance minister to clarify why inflation was below the target last year.
The headline inflation rate was 0.66 percent in 2017.
The central bank cited structural and supply-side factors, including lower food prices, as among the factors.
The BOT has left its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.50 percent, near record lows, since April 2015. It next reviews monetary policy on Feb. 14.
It has forecast economic growth of 3.9 percent for both 2017 and 2018. Official 2017 gross domestic product data is due on Feb. 19.
Reuters
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