Thailand
Thailand: February headline inflation up 0.42%
The annual headline inflation rate eased in February, missing forecasts and keeping below the central bank’s goal, giving policymakers leeway to keep monetary policy loose to aid economic growth.
The headline consumer price index rose 0.42% in February from a year earlier, after January’s 0.68% rise, commerce ministry data showed on Friday. A Reuters poll projected a rise of 0.69% in February.
In the first two months of 2018, the index rose 0.56% from a year earlier.
The Bank of Thailand predicts headline inflation of 1.1% this year and expects consumer prices to return to its target range between 1% and 4% in the second quarter of the year.
The central bank has kept its policy interest rate steady at 1.5%, near record lows, since April 2015. It will next review policy on March 28.
Most analysts expect no change for the rest of 2018, though some predict a rate increase in the second half of this year.
The core CPI, which excludes raw food and energy prices, rose 0.63% in February from a year earlier, slightly above the poll’s median of a 0.6% increase.
State price controls, subsidies and sluggish domestic demand have also held down consumer prices.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1421094/february-headline-inflation-up-0-42-