Thai central bank chief, finance minister to meet over inflation target as govt eyes rate cut
By Kitiphong Thaichareon
BANGKOK, Aug 30 (Reuters) -Thailand's central bank chief and finance minister will meet in early September to open negotiations on an inflation target for 2025, a senior official said, as the government seeks a new goal with an eye on a rate cut that it has pushed for months.
The government has been locked in a tussle with the Bank of Thailand (BOT) since last year, repeatedly asking the central bank to cut key interest rates to help revive a flagging economy, Southeast Asia's second-largest.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was elected prime minister earlier this month, in May even described the central bank's independence as an "obstacle" to resolving economic problems.
A review of the 1-3% inflation target range, which has been in place since 2020, could raise the chance of a rate cut, her predecessor Srettha Thavisin, who was dismissed from office by a court order, said in June.
At the upcoming meeting, the central bank would propose a target approved by its monetary policy committee (MPC), BOT assistant governor Piti Disyatat said.
"We have to wait for the meeting to see whether they are differences of opinion," Piti told Reuters, declining to disclose the MPC's target.
"We expect a mutual agreement to be reached."
A scheduled first meeting for discussions between the BOT and finance ministry on the inflation target has not been previously reported.
Despite government calls for an easing, the central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate THCBIR=ECI unchanged at a more than decade-high of 2.50%. The next rate review is due on Oct. 16.
The finance ministry said it was preparing data ahead of the September meeting, the exact date for which would be fixed after Paetongtarn confirms her cabinet, including the finance minister.
"We won't set our goal in advance but will wait to see what they will propose," said Pornchai Thiraveja, head of the ministry's fiscal policy office.
"We must set a target that is appropriate."
OPEN LETTER
Thailand's inflation target is reviewed every year and must be agreed by the BOT and finance ministry, and approved by the cabinet before the end of the year.
The BOT has said the current target range is functioning well, although headline inflation THCPI=ECI averaged just 0.11% in January-July.
The central bank has not met the current inflation target range since it was set.
Last month, Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said changing the target would put at risk credibility, inflation expectations and borrowing costs.
The central bank was preparing an open letter to the finance minister to explain why inflation was outside the target, in line with existing protocols, Piti said.
In its last such letter in February, the BOT said headline inflation had remained low in large part because of government energy subsidies that lowered electricity costs and retail oil prices.
"Without such aforementioned subsidy measures, average headline inflation over the previous 12 months would have resided within the monetary target range at 1.6 percent," the letter said.
Thailand's economic growth picked up to 2.3% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, but analysts said fiscal policy uncertainty clouded the outlook.
The BOT has predicted 2.6% growth for 2024, after last year's 1.9%.
Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Mark Potter
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
