Inflation In Thailand

[corkman]

Hi All,

I was wondering if some economically minded people could enlighten me:

• What is inflation currently running at?
• What has it been over the last 2 years?

Many thanks in advance.

[Tafia]

Just google 'Thailand Inflation Rate', gives you all the ifo you require.

[Pib]

You can get such statistics at the Bank of Thailand web site. Link

[chiang mai]

I assume the two previous posters either can't read or have broken hands so here:

As of July 2011 :

- Core Inflation 2.59 %

- Headline Inflation 4.08%

[Pib]

I assume the two previous posters either can't read or have broken hands so here:

As of July 2011 :

- Core Inflation 2.59 %

- Headline Inflation 4.08%

What has it been over the last 2 years?

Guess a reading deficiency or broken hands also prevented you from answering the OP's second question. Please continue. Personnally, I would let him review the provided BOT link...that way he will also know to where to look next time a similar quetion arises.

[Tafia]

I assume the two previous posters either can't read or have broken hands so here:

As of July 2011 :

- Core Inflation 2.59 %

- Headline Inflation 4.08%

Whats with the sarcasm? You try and help someone and......

Why cant the op do the search, I provided him with the details he needed.

As with the other poster I have given him the tools to do the job himself and by following my advice he could have got both answers by himself.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Tafia

[chiang mai]

I assume the two previous posters either can't read or have broken hands so here:

As of July 2011 :

- Core Inflation 2.59 %

- Headline Inflation 4.08%

Whats with the sarcasm? You try and help someone and......

Why cant the op do the search, I provided him with the details he needed.

As with the other poster I have given him the tools to do the job himself and by following my advice he could have got both answers by himself.

When the OP asked for someone economically minded I don't think he was referring to being economical with the answer, which is what, go google is. Sorry but I found it odd that someone would reply to a post with an answer that effectively says, go find the answer yourself, I mean, I think it's fairly safe to assume that the OP, having managed to post on TV, knows about google and how to use it - no worries though it's not a bigee.

As for the two year figure, this is the closest I could get:

"The inflation rate in Thailand was last reported at 4.08 percent in July of 2011. From 2000 until 2010, the average inflation rate in Thailand was 2.51 percent reaching an historical high of 9.20 percent in July of 2008 and a record low of -4.40 percent in July of 2009. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power". source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/inflation-cpi

Edited August 27, 2011 by chiang mai

[Tafia]

Ah I see, I guess it's just a case of theres no helping those who cant help themselves.

Certainly won't bother again.

[Nisa]

Remember to that there are a number of goods in Thailand where the price is controlled by the government. I am not sure how many goods but know it includes foods but also not sure how the government reacts in the price controls as inflation rises. I have noticed prices going up at a number of the street food vendors.

[Nisa]

I assume the two previous posters either can't read or have broken hands so here:

As of July 2011 :

- Core Inflation 2.59 %

- Headline Inflation 4.08%

Whats with the sarcasm? You try and help someone and......

Why cant the op do the search, I provided him with the details he needed.

As with the other poster I have given him the tools to do the job himself and by following my advice he could have got both answers by himself.

When the OP asked for someone economically minded I don't think he was referring to being economical with the answer, which is what, go google is. Sorry but I found it odd that someone would reply to a post with an answer that effectively says, go find the answer yourself, I mean, I think it's fairly safe to assume that the OP, having managed to post on TV, knows about google and how to use it - no worries though it's not a bigee.

As for the two year figure, this is the closest I could get:

"The inflation rate in Thailand was last reported at 4.08 percent in July of 2011. From 2000 until 2010, the average inflation rate in Thailand was 2.51 percent reaching an historical high of 9.20 percent in July of 2008 and a record low of -4.40 percent in July of 2009. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power". source: http://www.tradingec...d/inflation-cpi

Good post! Sometimes people actually want discussion and feedback from people who know the subject rather than a Google answer. Seems the poster kind of made clear he wanted to hear from people who knew the subject somewhat well.

[Tafia]

Good post! Sometimes people actually want discussion and feedback from people who know the subject rather than a Google answer. Seems the poster kind of made clear he wanted to hear from people who knew the subject somewhat well.

The inflation rate 2 yrs ago ?

Ah Yes and someone would actually be able to answer him without researching it...come on??

I googled it and found it out. Jeez some people are just so pretentious.

[Nisa]

Good post! Sometimes people actually want discussion and feedback from people who know the subject rather than a Google answer. Seems the poster kind of made clear he wanted to hear from people who knew the subject somewhat well.

The inflation rate 2 yrs ago ?

Ah Yes and someone would actually be able to answer him without researching it...come on??

I googled it and found it out. Jeez some people are just so pretentious.

Obviously the OP was not directed at you as it specifically states ... "I was wondering if some economically minded people could enlighten me:"

I know numerous people who follow this kind of stuff just as numerous people can go back and tell you who won the world serious each year for the last 20-years. Just because you or I would need to research doesn't mean there are not many people who wouldn't and could add insight to the numbers because rarely do the numbers tell the whole story. Example: The official unemployment rate in the US is currently at 9.1% but 1 out 5 of the workforce is actually under or unemployed ... and I didn't need to research these numbers or numbers such as the unemployment rate being 9.2% a 2 months ago or the rate being about 4.5% in 2007 and it jumping to an average of 9.75% in 2010 or that the last time rates were this high were in the early 80's during Reagan's first term or that it took about 10 years after the great depression for unemployment rates to .drop back to single digits or that the unemployment rate then and now are measured differently.

Although I know a number of stats and have an understanding of how the rates are derived in the US, I have little knowledge of inflation here but can tell Thailand has an extremely low unemployment rate and has been under 2% for about the last 5 years and most of the last decade. So, I have no doubt there are posters out there who certainly know a lot about the Thai economy, possibly for business, and can easily respond and converse with the OP seeing how I can quote unemployment rates in different countries and it has nothing to do with my work but simply am aware of these things from reading various news or informational articles.

I just don't see the point in knocking somebody for asking for information from a human being who has an understanding of a subject. Google is great but sometimes it is just nice to speak with somebody who enjoys conversing and helping or educating people beyond saying go find the answer yourself.

[Pib]

You can get such statistics at the Bank of Thailand web site. Link

To repeat...go to above BOT Link.

On the main page in the lower right hand corner shows the current core (and headline) inflation.

Then click Statistics at the top of the main page, then Inflation on the right hand side where all kinds of inflation stats can be easily pulled up by year/month to included detailed/interesting data regarding the stats.

OP's questions answered and he now has a reference web site for the future/additional research on all types of Thailand economic data.

[corkman]

Abstract:

It would seem many posters here have issues with irratbility i.e. easily irritated by little or nothing..... suggest posting in the health forum, maybe they can help you out. Googling irritation however turns up "Irritation or exacerbation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage" which may not necessarily be the correct context?

Thank you for the few constructive and informative replies. As a few others have surmised, I had hoped for some light discussion on the matter, in a general context that a layman can understand. Too massive a leap of intuition for some I guess. Maybe its just me, but I have learned to not believe everything I read on Thai websites and Thai media - I have even learned not to beleive what the Government says, which extends to State Instutions - although this latter point is not a phenomena unique to Thailand, particualrly with regard to economic issues (read as all the lying swines over recent years trying to convince us that everything is ok, while the global financial crisis rages on). Maybe I'm just paranoid - but I was taught to be cautious, and hence I was looking for information from sources other than those aforementioned or alluded to above e.g. from a fellow human expat.

My question regarding inflation over the last 2 years. Perhaps I was not clear - I am quite ignorant in such matters (no sarcasm intended), and so framed my question incorrectly. What I meant was; over the last 2 years how much has the cost of living increased due to inflation - in total i.e. day-to-day living is now (say) 5% more expensive than in was in September 2009. Broad strokes are sufficient here folks - accuracy to 5 decimal places not needed

Edited August 29, 2011 by corkman

[chiang mai]

Abstract:

It would seem many posters here have issues with irratbility i.e. easily irritated by little or nothing..... suggest posting in the health forum, maybe they can help you out. Googling irritation however turns up "Irritation or exacerbation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage" which may not necessarily be the correct context?

Thank you for the few constructive and informative replies. As a few others have surmised, I had hoped for some light discussion on the matter, in a general context that a layman can understand. Too massive a leap of intuition for some I guess. Maybe its just me, but I have learned to not believe everything I read on Thai websites and Thai media - I have even learned not to beleive what the Government says, which extends to State Instutions - although this latter point is not a phenomena unique to Thailand, particualrly with regard to economic issues (read as all the lying swines over recent years trying to convince us that everything is ok, while the global financial crisis rages on). Maybe I'm just paranoid - but I was taught to be cautious, and hence I was looking for information from sources other than those aforementioned or alluded to above e.g. from a fellow human expat.

My question regarding inflation over the last 2 years. Perhaps I was not clear - I am quite ignorant in such matters (no sarcasm intended), and so framed my question incorrectly. What I meant was; over the last 2 years how much has the cost of living increased due to inflation - in total i.e. day-to-day living is now (say) 5% more expensive than in was in September 2009. Broad strokes are sufficient here folks - accuracy to 5 decimal places not needed

Inflation is different things to different people and that is certainly evident in Thailand over the past few years or so. The cost of staple goods, eggs chicken, pork, milk etc are managed in part by the government hence any associated inflation rate is fairly low by comparison to goods that are more free market priced. As might be expected lifestyle plays a large part in determining an applicable rate of inflation, the inflation rate for an upcountry farmer is likely to be nowhere near that of say a Bangkok based expat. To try and average all of that out to arrive at a meaningful average rate of inflation is probably doable although I doubt it would be of much use, so, question is, is expat inflation your focus because if so you'll likely get swamped with real and anecdotal examples of how the cost of living has increased hugely in recent years.

[corkman]

Abstract:

It would seem many posters here have issues with irratbility i.e. easily irritated by little or nothing..... suggest posting in the health forum, maybe they can help you out. Googling irritation however turns up "Irritation or exacerbation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage" which may not necessarily be the correct context?

Thank you for the few constructive and informative replies. As a few others have surmised, I had hoped for some light discussion on the matter, in a general context that a layman can understand. Too massive a leap of intuition for some I guess. Maybe its just me, but I have learned to not believe everything I read on Thai websites and Thai media - I have even learned not to beleive what the Government says, which extends to State Instutions - although this latter point is not a phenomena unique to Thailand, particualrly with regard to economic issues (read as all the lying swines over recent years trying to convince us that everything is ok, while the global financial crisis rages on). Maybe I'm just paranoid - but I was taught to be cautious, and hence I was looking for information from sources other than those aforementioned or alluded to above e.g. from a fellow human expat.

My question regarding inflation over the last 2 years. Perhaps I was not clear - I am quite ignorant in such matters (no sarcasm intended), and so framed my question incorrectly. What I meant was; over the last 2 years how much has the cost of living increased due to inflation - in total i.e. day-to-day living is now (say) 5% more expensive than in was in September 2009. Broad strokes are sufficient here folks - accuracy to 5 decimal places not needed

Inflation is different things to different people and that is certainly evident in Thailand over the past few years or so. The cost of staple goods, eggs chicken, pork, milk etc are managed in part by the government hence any associated inflation rate is fairly low by comparison to goods that are more free market priced. As might be expected lifestyle plays a large part in determining an applicable rate of inflation, the inflation rate for an upcountry farmer is likely to be nowhere near that of say a Bangkok based expat. To try and average all of that out to arrive at a meaningful average rate of inflation is probably doable although I doubt it would be of much use, so, question is, is expat inflation your focus because if so you'll likely get swamped with real and anecdotal examples of how the cost of living has increased hugely in recent years.

Thanks for that.

Not necessarily "expat" inflation per say, but inflation for Bangkok and for the type of people that we expats live and work with (e.g. the type that drive anything from an Yaris to a Fortuner, live in a 2 bed condo or a nice 3 bed air ocnditioned house in the suburbs, send their kids to decent schools, shop is tesco's or tops, etc.).

I mean if rice contributes to 25% of your household expenses then a 10% increase in rice is a 2.5% increase in your family's cost of living (approx.) so that would be less aplpicable to me or anyone that lives in airconditioned home (on the basis of mortgage and electric alone).

Edited August 29, 2011 by corkman

[chiang mai]

To be honest I don't know how you'd even begin to quantify inflation in that sector, you describe a group that economically is in between the rural "haves" and the expats and is quite small in numbers (but is growing rapidly). If we said that headline inflation was say 4% I suppose that could translate into a rate of around 2% for the rural poor/haves and up to 10% for expats. On that basis it would not be unreasonable to think that the group you describe suffers inflation of somewhere in between the two other groups, especially since you describe them as being Bangkok based - finger in the air in that scenario, 5 or 6% per year but that's purely a WAG. Maybe others can add further logic or methodology?

[Naam]

Maybe others can add further logic or methodology?

there is none that applies to everybody. Corkman has a valid point and i go even further and claim that the impact of actual inflation fluctuates wildly as it depends on three factors, namely the basket which is used to measure the rate, the share that basket or its individual components of expenses and the ratio income:expenses.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Naam

[corkman]

Chiang mai & Naam;

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, it is somewhat confusing in a country such as Thailand. When I hear some statistics (of which inflation is just one) I often think is that averaged over bangkok or over the entire country..... even among working class Thai's there is a huge discrepency. When you hear about "poor" people upcountry earning 5k a month and the average wage in burgerking as about 5-6k per month, well the upcountry folk living in shacks, drinking rainwater, and eating a lot of home ground and wild caught foodstuffs then there is no means of comparison whatsoever.

Taking that example of expats falling into the middle of 2% and 10% it sounds sensible. The question is how accurate can one guess those margins? I mean I have read a lot about spiralling food costs, but I have not really noticed a big increase in the grocery bills - yet I have certainly notived over the last year or two there is less spare cash left in the pot at the end of each month.....

[Gonsalviz]

I assume the two previous posters either can't read or have broken hands so here:

As of July 2011 :

- Core Inflation 2.59 %

- Headline Inflation 4.08%

Don't you think that if a person can sign up to a forum and figure out how to ask a question and read the reply, that they could figure out GOOGLE? Trust me it is much faster.

[chiang mai]

Chiang mai & Naam;

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, it is somewhat confusing in a country such as Thailand. When I hear some statistics (of which inflation is just one) I often think is that averaged over bangkok or over the entire country..... even among working class Thai's there is a huge discrepency. When you hear about "poor" people upcountry earning 5k a month and the average wage in burgerking as about 5-6k per month, well the upcountry folk living in shacks, drinking rainwater, and eating a lot of home ground and wild caught foodstuffs then there is no means of comparison whatsoever.

Taking that example of expats falling into the middle of 2% and 10% it sounds sensible. The question is how accurate can one guess those margins? I mean I have read a lot about spiralling food costs, but I have not really noticed a big increase in the grocery bills - yet I have certainly notived over the last year or two there is less spare cash left in the pot at the end of each month.....

If asked then I think most people here will be able to identify grocery items that have increased in price over the past year although I'm told it's the woman of the house who is most likely to notice individual price increases - I remember one or two years ago being in a Tesco where the price of a bag of rice changed between putting it in the cart and arriving at the check out and that phenomenon continued until rice found its new selling price. As for having less money to play with each month: budgets for some people can be slightly elastic and it's not until one sits down and does the sums that the increases are truly evident. I've just been through that process having now returned to northern Thailand for a few months after living in Phuket for many years, I now find that my cost of living has dropped by almost 35% a month - oddly, I noticed the costs falling but I never really noticed them increase at the time!

But back on the subject of margins and whether or not they are sensible: my experience of the local population is that they are pretty good at containing price increases, mostly because they have to be and simply cannot afford to spend more - another aspect is that the government does have controls in place from time to ensure that the cost of basic consumer items and staples doesn't escalate too rapidly. Expats on the other hand tend to spend more on imported foodstuffs and consumables and those seem to be the items where prices increase most, probably as a function of strengthening local currency/weakening home currency. So yes, I think there's a decent case that can be made to suggest the two ends of the inflation spectrum are pretty far apart and that the rest of the populations falls somewhere in between, 2 and 10% or 1 and 12%, it's certainly of that order I would think.