BANGKOK: Thailand’s headline inflation is expected to be little changed in October and still below the central bank’s target range, while September factory output growth slowed, a Reuters poll showed, giving policymakers room to keep monetary policy loose. The median forecast of 13 economists was for the headline consumer price index (CPI) in October to rise 0.82 percent from a year earlier. In September, it was up 0.86 percent.
The Bank of Thailand forecasts 2017 headline inflation of 0.6 percent, below its target range of 1-4 percent. But it expects inflation to return to the band by the middle of 2018. It next reviews policy on Nov. 8, and most analysts expect no change for the rest of 2017. According to the poll, the core inflation rate, which strips out energy and fresh food prices, was 0.58 percent in October, little changed from September’s 0.53 percent. Thailand’s manufacturing production index in September likely rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier after a 3.74 percent increase in August, according to the poll.
