Thailand’s central bank maintained its interest rate as widely expected by economists on Wednesday.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Thailand unanimously decided to retain the policy rate at 1.50 percent. The rate is now at the lowest since June 2010, when it was 1.25 percent.
Policymakers observed that monetary conditions and exchange rate remain supportive to the economic recovery, despite the economy continuing to face downside risks. Accordingly, the bank deemed its appropriate to maintain the policy rate at this meeting.
The bank said it stands ready to utilize an appropriate mix of available policy tools in order to support the economic recovery, while ensuring financial stability. The MPC said monetary policy stance should continue to be sufficiently accommodative going forward.
The bank noted that the economy gradually recovered at a pace close to assessment at the prior meeting. The Thai economy faces more negative factors from abroad, particularly a slowdown in the Chinese and other Asian economies, it said.
Headline inflation is projected to rise gradually, and to turn positive in the first quarter of next year. Meanwhile, deflationary risks remain contained as demand continues to expand and core inflation is still positive, consistent with medium-term inflation expectations of the public.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com