Bank of Thailand forecasts final interest rate hike amid inflation uncertainty

[webfact]

 

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) aims to cap its series of interest rate increases with a final 25-basis-point hike slated for August 2, due to an ongoing high and uncertain inflation outlook. This insight has been gathered from a poll conducted recently.

 

After June’s annual headline inflation eased down to 0.23%, falling below the BoT’s target range of 1%-3%, it signalled a rebound in prices later in the year. This indicates that the BoT is not finished with its cycle of fiscal tightening.

 

Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, the BoT’s governor, said last week that the current inflation outlook aligns with expectations. Consequently, the monetary policy will pivot more towards future predictions than relying solely on current data.

With this slight shift in focus, economists participating in a Reuters poll between July 17-26, who previously anticipated that the 150 basis points of policy tightening would end in May, now predict another rate hike.

Out of 22, 18 economists predict that the BoT will proceed with raising its benchmark one-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% on August 2. This would be the loftiest since January 2014. The remaining four economists project no change.

 

by Alex Morgan

Dr. Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, Photo courtesy of Bank of Thailand

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-07-29

 

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Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/business/bank-of-thailand-forecasts-final-interest-rate-hike-amid-inflation-uncertainty

[koolkarl]

Do they look at the price of used furniture to calculate their CPI?  Everything I buy has been rising 10% per year for ages already.  With interest here far below the US, the Bank of Thailand has been busy selling USD via their swap line and buying baht  non stop.  Most obvious case of currency manipulation.