Thailand's central bank signals no rush to hike rates as inflation outlook improves

BANGKOK, May 13 : Thailand's central bank said on Wednesday that it was in no rush to raise interest rates and that supply-side inflation was expected to ease next year. • The Bank of Thailand said that risks of a second round of inflation were limited, adding that inflation was expected to rise temporarily this year on higher energy prices and cost pass-throughs. • The current policy rate was appropriate to support economic recovery, it said in a statement. • The country's economy outlook has dimmed and it requires a coordinated policy mix and structural changes to handle heightened risks from the Middle East war, the minutes of the central bank's April 29 policy meeting showed on Wednesday. • At the meeting, the monetary policy committee unanimously voted to keep the one-day repurchase rate unchanged at 1.00 per cent as it assessed the impact of higher oil prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East. • The next rate review is on June 24. • Consumption-based stimulus offered only transient economic support, the minutes said, adding that policy should prioritise structural transformation and the preservation of fiscal room to manoeuvre. • Overall credit growth was expected to remain subdued this year, the minutes showed. • Last week, Governor Vitai Ratanakorn revised growth forecasts to 2.1 per cent this year and 2.6 per cent for next, from 1.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent at a previous policy review. • The impact of the conflict has gone beyond higher energy prices and has become more broad-based, weakening purchasing power and raising business costs, the minutes said. • The upward revision in growth for this year reflects a 400 billion-baht ($12.4 billion) loan decree approved last week and a consumer subsidy scheme planned for June to boost consumption, Vitai said. • The government this week said it would seek cabinet approval to borrow an additional 200 billion baht. • Vitai has forecast headline inflation at 3.1 per cent this year, easing to 1.4 per cent in 2027, compared with the central bank's projections in April of 2.9 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent next year. Its target range is 1 per cent to 3 per cent. • Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which has lagged regional peers since the pandemic, expanded 2.4 per cent last year. ($1 = 32.32 baht)