Thai inflation in March rises for 9th consecutive month

NONTHABURI, March 2 (TNA) – March inflation rose for the ninth consecutive month, due to recovery of buying power and increasing demands for goods and service, said a commerce ministry official. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office said that inflation in March rose 0.79 per cent from the same period last year. Consumption and household spending on goods excluding food increased continuously, resulting from high demand for goods and service outside the farm sector in Bangkok and other region, which is a good sign of economic recovery. She said farmers benefit from increase prices of many agricultural products, which contributed to inflation rate, staying at 0.64 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Rising inflation also resulted from increased prices of instant food, beverage, energy and residence and transportation while prices of fuel, some fresh food and communication dropped in line with the marketing mechanism. The ministry projects that inflation in the second quarter is likely to rise over one per cent due to long Songkran holiday and minimum wage rise, effective April 1 across the country. 2018 inflation is projected to hover around 0.7-1.7 per cent in accordance with the government’s stimulus measures, focusing on domestic economy. (TNA)