Government's assistance on low income earners helps contain inflation

BANGKOK, October 1 (TNA) - The Thai government's measures on curbing rising costs of living, including those on assisting low income earners through its single welfare card, have helped ease the country's inflation this year. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, Director-General of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), under the Ministry of Commerce, told journalists of the update on Monday, noting that the rather stable world oil prices lately, at around 50 US dollars per barrel are also another main reason helping contain the country's inflation in 2017 amid the recovering national economy at about 3.5 per cent and the appreciation of the Thai baht to about 34 baht a US dollar so far. Pimchanok said her ministry has, thus, adjusted the official projection of Thailand's consumer price index (CPI), or inflation rate, this year to 0.4-1.0 per cent year-on-year on average, from 0.7-1.7 per cent year-on-year forecast earlier. According to the senior official, Thailand's inflation rate during the first nine months of this year stood at 0.59 per cent year-on-year, which has caused no concerns to the government. Meanwhile, all low income earners nationwide who have registered with the Thai government and passed an official screening process will get the "Hybrid 2 Chips", the single welfare card issued by the Ministry of Finance's Comptroller General's Department, by October 17, 2017, with all in 70 provinces having first got their single welfare card by at the end of last month and starting using it on October 1. (TNA)