Thailand’s headline inflation in September edged up 1.68 per cent from a year earlier, the Commerce Ministry said Tuesday, warning of food prices disruption from floods.
The rise in September’s consumer price index (CPI) was mainly attributed to the expiration of state relief measures to cut utility bills and a hike in retail fuel prices, said Wichanun Niwatjinda, deputy director at the Trade Policy and Strategy Office.
Prior to a 0.02-per-cent dip in August, CPI persistently jumped for a fourth consecutive month. The biggest jump was a 3.41-per-cent in April in line with an uptick in food prices.
Prices of certain farm products in September, such as rice, glutinous rice, meat, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits, and eggs, fluctuated but were mostly lower than a year earlier, Wichanun said.
Excluding energy and food categories, the core CPI in September rose by 0.19 per cent year-on-year. For the first nine months of 2021, CPI rose by 0.83 per cent year-on-year.
Looking forward, Wichanun warned that prices of certain fresh food products could be subject to fluctuation owing to weather conditions and natural disasters. There are 32 provinces affected from the flood as of Tuesday, with 18 still unresolved, and Bangkok has been put on high alert.
The trade office also narrowed the country’s full-year headline inflation forecast for 2021 from 0.7 – 1.7 per cent to 0.8 – 1.2 per cent given the rising crude oil prices, improved Covid-19 situation, and a weakening of Thai baht.
Without the state subsidies, the inflation for 2021 will likely hover around 1.4 – 1.8 per cent year-on-year, he noted.
The government has capped diesel prices at 30 baht per litre from October 11 to the end of the month to assist Thais’ living costs as global fuel price has risen multiple times, the energy minister said Monday.