Latest news with #PoonpongNaiyanapakorn
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Thailand inflation remains negative in May; government cuts 2025 forecast
Image from The Nation Thailand/Asia News Neywork BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand's annual inflation rate was negative for a second straight month in May, the commerce ministry said on Friday. The Thai government has now cut its full-year forecast to close to zero, just weeks ahead of the central bank's next monetary policy review. The consumer price index dropped 0.57% in May from a year earlier, not quite as steep as the 0.80% fall forecast in a Reuters poll, following a 0.22% fall in April. It was the third month in a row that the inflation rate has been below the central bank's target range of 1.0% to 3.0%. Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said a positive inflation reading was expected in June, but the forecast of 0.2% to 0.4% was still below the central bank's target. The ministry cut its full-year inflation forecast to 0.0% to 1.0% from 0.3% to 1.3% seen previously. Poonpong said prices fell in May due to lower energy prices and more production of agricultural goods such as vegetables. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was up 1.09% in May from a year earlier, higher than a forecast rise of 0.94%. For the first five months of the year, headline inflation averaged 0.48% and the core rate was at 0.95%, Poonpong said. In April, the Bank of Thailand cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to 1.75%, the lowest level in two years, and reduced its growth and inflation forecasts for 2025, due to risks from U.S. tariffs. The next rate meeting is on June 25. Deputy BOT Governor Piti Disyatat told Reuters last month the central bank was ready to ease policy again if needed to support Southeast Asia's second-largest economy through the global trade war. He said low inflation was not a reflection of weak domestic demand or deflation. (Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon, Thanadech Staporncharnchai and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty and John Mair) - Reuters
Bloomberg
28-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Thailand Eyes More Pet Food, Rice Exports Amid China-US Standoff
Thailand is aiming to increase exports of pet food, rice and other processed food products to the US at the cost of Chinese shippers who are shut out of the prized market by a tariff wall. The Southeast Asian country expects to increase its marketshare in segments like dog and cat food, rice and processed mackerel where it's already the leading supplier to the US, while seizing the opportunity to substitute Chinese products such as noodles, frozen seafood, soy sauce and bamboo shoots, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director general of Thailand's Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said in a statement Monday.
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Lower Thai inflation reflects energy and policy measures, ministry says
BANGKOK, April 14 (Reuters) - Thailand's lower-than-expected March inflation rate was mainly due to lower energy prices and government policies to alleviate cost of living pressures, the commerce ministry said on Monday, and did not reflect a slowdown in economic activity. It added that slower global growth could weigh on prices. A global economic slowdown brought on by U.S. tariffs would impact prices, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office said, noting that foreign exporters impacted by the tariffs may also ship cheaper goods to Thailand. Thai March inflation of 0.84% came in below forecast and lower than the central bank's target range of 1% to 3%. In the first quarter as a whole, inflation was at 1.08%, the ministry said, with second-quarter inflation of 0.15%. With inflation below the target range, the full-year rate will also likely be below target, it said. The central bank said earlier it would ensure inflation was not too low or too high., opens new tab
