(Reuters) – Thailand’s central bank is ready to adjust the pace of tightening monetary policy if needed and would be prepared to hold an off-cycle meeting if necessary, the central bank chief said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the central bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter point at its regular meeting to 1.00% to curb inflation.
The country’s core inflation is expected to peak in the fourth quarter, while Thailand’s economic recovery remains intact, Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput told reporters on Thursday.
Sethaput said a weak Thai currency was being driven by a strong dollar and was not “unusually weak”, but would be ready to act on excessive moves.
The baht has been trading at 16-year lows against the dollar. It has depreciated 12.4% against the greenback so far this year. Meanwhile, headline inflation was 7.86% in August, a 14-year high, and far above the central bank’s target range of 1% to 3%. The BOT on Wednesday predicted average headline inflation of 6.3% this year and 2.6% next year. The BOT maintained its 2022 economic growth outlook of 3.3% seen in June, and trimmed its 2023 growth forecast to 3.8% from 4.2% for 2023. The economy grew 2.5% from a year earlier in the April-June period. Last year, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expanded just 1.5%, among the slowest pace in the region.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Ed Davies)
