Bank of Thailand forecasts final interest rate hike amid inflation uncertainty

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…