Thailand’s headline CPI rises unexpectedly in April, ends slump.

Commerce Ministry officials in Thailand announced today that the country’s headline consumer price index (CPI) experienced a year-on-year increase of 0.19% this April.

This is a notable shift from the previous month’s 0.47% year-on-year decrease and considerably exceeds the 0.25% fall projected by a Reuters poll. Such a rise in inflation after a seven-month negative streak indicates a significant change in economic trends.

Thailand’s core CPI in April, which excludes the variable food and energy prices, also recorded a rise of 0.37%. The Director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, attributed this upturn to several factors. These include a low base for electricity prices in the previous year, an increase in agricultural prices, and a weak baht.

Despite the recent rise, this April marks the 12th consecutive month where inflation has stayed outside the Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) target range of 1% to 3%. This persistent deviation was significantly influenced by the escalating global energy prices and the increase in prices of agricultural products due to a hot climate, according to Poonpong.

However, the ministry remains steadfast in its inflation prediction for the year, keeping it between 0.0% and 1.0%. From January till April, the average CPI recorded a 0.55% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, Thailand’s daily online fraud fell to 110 million baht in April. On April 1, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin delegated several organisations to yield tangible results from their efforts to tackle the widespread online fraud within 30 days.

In response, the number of online fraud complaints in April increased to 992, compared to the 855 recorded in March.

This increase is attributed to the availability of more channels for victims to lodge their complaints, as explained by the Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), Prasert Jantararuangthong. Despite the improvement in some key indexes, the minister expressed dissatisfaction with the figures.