Thailand’s inflation hits lowest level in eight months

BANGKOK, January 5 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Commerce says that the country's inflation rose 3.53 per cent year-on-year in December 2011, the lowest level in eight months. Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Puangraj said Thursday that Thailand's Consumer Price Index (CPI), the gauge of inflation, in December 2011 stood at 112.77, up 3.53 per cent from December 2010 but was at its lowest level in eight months. Yanyong attributed the country's lowest inflation rate last month to receding floodwater, which increased supply of food products, including fruits, vegetables and chicken eggs, to a drop in oil prices, which cut transportation costs, and to the government’s close monitoring of consumer products prices on the domestic market. According to the senior official, Thailand's inflation in December 2011 fell 0.48 per cent compared to a month earlier due mainly to a drop in the food products and fuel prices, although prices of rice, pork, canned food, construction materials, automobile parts and alcoholic beverages rose to some extent. The senior Thai Commerce Ministry official acknowledged that the country's average inflation in 2011 rose 3.81 year-on-year, which was close to his ministry's earlier projection at 3.2-3.8 per cent, and that the Thai inflation rate last year was ranked fourth in Asia, after Japan, Brunei and Malaysia. The senior official projected that Thailand's average inflation in 2012 would hover around 3.3-3.8 per cent, assessing, however, that rising prices of natural gas for vehicles (NGV) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would marginally raise the country's inflation by only 0.05 per cent. (TNA)