The country’s headline consumer prices rose again in December, but were below forecasts.

The headline consumer price index rose 0.78% in December from a year earlier, after November’s 0.99% rise, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday.

A Reuters poll projected an increase of 0.99% in December.

The Bank of Thailand expects headline inflation to be 1.1% in 2018, compared with its 1-4% target range.

The BoT has left its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.50% since April 2015. The rate is just 25 basis points above the record low.

It next reviews its monetary policy on Feb 14. Most economists expect no policy change throughout 2018, but some predict an interest rate hike in the second half of the year.

The core CPI index, which excludes raw food and energy prices, rose 0.62% in December year-on-year, also below the poll’s median forecast of 0.65% increase.

In 2017, annual headline CPI rose 0.66% and the core index increased 0.56%.

Inflation in Thailand has been held down by state price controls, subsidies and soft domestic demand.