Thailand’s headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.54% in May from a year earlier, after the previous month’s annual rise of 0.19%, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday.
The May figure compared with a forecast increase of 1.19% in a Reuters poll and marked the first time since April 2023 that the headline inflation rate returned to the central bank’s target range of 1% to 3%.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.39% year-on-year in May.
In the first five months of 2024, average headline CPI dropped 0.13% from a year earlier, with the core rate up 0.42%.
The ministry maintained its headline inflation forecast for the year of between 0.0% to 1.0%. It said CPI would likely rise slowly in June.
In April, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) left its key interest rate at a more than decade-high of 2.50%.
The next rate review is on June 12, when most economists expect no policy change.