Thailand's annual headline inflation rate slowed in August, as food prices rose and energy prices fell, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, and remained below the Bank of Thailand's (BoT) target range of 1% to 3%.
The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.35% in August from a year earlier, after July's annual increase of 0.83%, to come in just under a forecast rise of 0.40% in a Reuters poll.
Inflation is expected to pick up in September, the ministry said.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.62% in August from a year earlier, just above a forecast rise of 0.55% in the poll.
In the January-August period, average annual headline inflation was 0.15%, with core inflation at 0.44%.
According to minutes of the central bank's monetary policy meeting on Aug 21, Thailand's current inflation target range of 1% to 3% has been effective in anchoring expectations and in handling price shocks.
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira and BoT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput will meet this month to open negotiations on an inflation target for 2025, with the government seeking a new goal as it seeks an interest rate cut.