Thailand to stay on growth path despite higher inflation – central bank

BANGKOK : Thailand’s economy will continue to expand in 2022 and 2023 despite rising inflation, while monetary policy tightening may have to wait until the economy recovers more strongly, the central bank said on Monday.

The central bank will continue to support the economy, as it has left the key rate at a record low of 0.50per cent since May 2020 to aid a slow and uneven recovery, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said in a statement https://www.bot.or.th/Thai/MonetaryPolicy/MonetPolicyComittee/MPR/DocLib/AnalystMeeting_110422.pdf at an analysts’ meeting.

The BOT has forecast economic growth of 3.2per cent this year and 4.4per cent next year, driven by domestic demand and tourism. It predicts 5.6 million foreign tourists this year and 19 million next year, compared with 40 million in 2019.

Despite higher supply-driven inflation, medium-term inflation expectations remain in the BOT’s…