BANGKOK, Thailand’s consumer inflation growth rose in Dec, driven by higher energy and food prices, data showed, yesterday.

The country’s consumer price index (CPI), a key indicator of inflation, rose 5.89 percent, year on year in Dec, accelerating from a seven-month low of 5.55 percent in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The core CPI, which excludes raw food and energy prices, rose 3.23 percent year on year, edging up from a 3.22 percent increase a month earlier, as production costs were still high.

For the annual average, the headline CPI increased by 6.08 percent, while the core CPI rose by 2.51 percent.

Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, expected headline inflation to fall to between two and three percent this year, aided by a high price base and a global economic slowdown.

Inflation in 2023 tended to drop significantly from last year, as most prices remained stable and began to fall after a gradual climb, Poonpong told a news conference.

Source: Nam News Network