Thailand again holds rate at 2%; inflation ‘subdued’ as oil slides

By Susanna Moon

Chicago, Dec. 17 – Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee again voted to keep the policy rate unchanged at 2% at its meeting on Wednesday, this time by a margin of five to two.

Two members sought to trim the rate by 25 basis points “against the backdrop of higher downside risks to global growth and low inflationary pressure,” according to a bank notice.

In the third quarter, the Thai economy expanded slowly as expected, with domestic private spending being the main growth driver.

Headline inflation trended down due to energy prices and is expected to stay “subdued” for some time, in line with global oil prices, the bank said.

Core inflation ticked down with lower demand pressure as a result of slow economic recovery.

As previously announced, the committee voted six to one to maintain the policy rate at 2% at its meeting on Nov. 5, with the dissenter seeking a rate cut of 25 bps.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.