Thailand: Weak price pressures to persist – ANZ

Analysts at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) believe that the price pressures in Thailand are likely to remain softer and could prompt a rate cut by the Thai central bank.

Key quotes:

“Thailand’s headline inflation slowed to 0.74% y/y in February, dipping back below the central bank’s target band of 1-3%.

The pullback mainly reflected lower energy prices, while core inflation ticked up.

The big picture is that the combination of weak price pressures, heightened growth risks, and rising pressure for a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 outbreak suggests a further rate cut by the Bank of Thailand (BoT) now looks more likely than not.”