Thai inflation rate slows to 0.45% in July, below forecast (updated)

CPI SA

05/08/2021 07:15

* Main CPI to rise in August, but still to be low - ministry
    * Q3 main CPI seen at 1% y/y
    * Ministry keeps 2021 main inflation forecast at 0.7-1.7% 

 (Adds detail, outlook)
    BANGKOK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Thailand's headline consumer
price index (CPI) in July rose a smaller-than-expected 0.45%
from a year earlier, weighed down by government subsidies on
utilities to cushion the impact of a prolonged COVID-19
outbreak, the commerce ministry said.
    The figure compared with a forecast for a rise of 0.97% in a
Reuters poll and followed June's 1.25% increase.
    Without the subsidies, which will end in August, the
headline CPI would have risen 1.8%, ministry official Wichanun
Niwatjinda told a briefing on Thursday.
    The CPI index in August is expected to rise but not markedly
due to the subsidies and with oil prices now below earlier
levels, he said.
    The ministry is maintaining its forecast for headline
inflation in a range of 0.7-1.7% this year, with inflation seen
at 1.01% in the third quarter and 1.9% in the fourth quarter,  
Wichanun said.
    "But if there are additional or continuous government
measures, the numbers will drop," he added.
    The central bank has set a target for headline inflation in
a range of 1-3%.
    The government is expected to continue providing subsidies
along with relief measures as the Southeast Asian country
struggles with its biggest wave of infections.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2PC0GT
    In July, the core CPI index was up 0.14% from a year
earlier, versus a forecast for a 0.26% rise. 
    In the January-July period, headline CPI rose 0.83% from a
year earlier, with the core CPI up 0.26%.

 (Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and
Satawasin Staporncharnchai
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((orathai.sriring@tr.com;))