MPC expected to maintain 1% rate
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is widely expected to leave its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 1% at Wednesday's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, with research houses noting that subdued inflationary pressures and heightened external uncertainties warrant a steady stance.Bank of Thailand governor Vitai Ratanakorn said that although peace talks between the US and Iran have not yet yielded fruitful results, the central bank has maintained its assessment that the Iran war would end by the middle of the year.
Under the bank's existing scenario, global oil prices would continue to decline, easing Thailand's inflationary pressure, though the government's Thai Help Thai Plus scheme would accelerate inflation.
The central bank, he said, has not changed its view that headline inflation would average 3% this year.
Krungsri Research said the MPC is likely to maintain the policy rate at 1%, citing uncertainties surrounding the global economy despite ongoing peace talks between the US and Iran.
