Bank of Ayudhya’s executive vice president Somprawin Manprasert said that the bank believes the Monetary Policy Committee will maintain the policy rate at 1.5 per cent given the country’s economy has been recovering while inflation are kept close to the target. 

However, he said the Monetary Policy Committee may consider an increase in the the policy rate in the second half of this year.

Naris Sthapholdeja, director of TMB Analytics, TMB Bank, said that although the Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to maintain the policy rate at 1.5 per cent in their meeting next Wednesday (May 16), he believes the committee may hint at an increase of 0.25 per cent in the second half of this year as the country’s inflation has shown signs of an uptrend amid continuous growth in domestic consumption.

Kasikorn Research Centre is also confident that the Monetary Policy Committee will maintain the country’s policy rate at 1.5 per cent at their next meeting on Wednesday as the country’s economy is forecasted to grow by four per cent in the first half of the year from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the government has yet to accelerate spending, resulting in falling prices of agriculture products. 

 Domestic consumption has grown slightly and an inflation rate of 1.07 per cent was recorded in April , following the rise energy cost.

The committee may revise the policy rate in the second half of this year, following a study of the local and global economies in the context of the US’s trade protection policy, the research said. 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30345070