BENGALURU: Thailand’s central bank will wait for at least a year before raising interest rates from record lows to support the tourism-dependent economy hit hard by coronavirus-related travel restrictions, a Reuters poll found.
Economic growth in the Southeast Asian nation is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and the recovery continues to be fragile due to an outbreak of the Omicron coronavirus variant that crippled the crucial tourism industry.
Although inflation breached the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) target range of 1-3per cent in January, it was expected to fall back within that range in the coming months, giving the central bank the space to maintain an accommodative stance as long as necessary to revive growth.
That comes despite multi-decade highs for inflation in many countries, including the United States, where the Federal Reserve is due to raise interest rates next…
