November inflation rises for four consecutive months

NONTHABURI, Dec 1 (TNA) – Thailand’s inflation in November was up 0.99 per cent due to higher retailed oil prices and tobacco tax increase, says the Commerce Ministry. Pimchanok Wonkorporn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Bureau under the ministry said the headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.99% in November from the previous year, the highest rate in nine months. Despite a drop in fresh flood prices with more supplies released to the market, increases of retailed oil prices and cigarette products have caused the inflation to rise. The headline CPI from Jan to Nov this year rose 0.66 per cent year-on-year in line with the ministry’s projection in a range of 0.4-1.0 per cent. It predicts that next year, the global oil prices will stay around US$50-60 per barrel and Thai currency is around 33-35 baht against the US dollar. The 2018 GDP is likely to expand around 3.5-4 per cent while the inflation is forecast to slightly high around 0.6-1.6 per cent. (TNA)