© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A woman walks at the Maeklong market next to the train tracks, on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
BANGKOK(Reuters) – Thailand’s headline consumer price index (CPI) rose by a less-than-expected 5.55% in November from a year earlier, the slowest pace in seven months, helped by lower food prices, government data showed on Wednesday.
The index, which slowed for a third straight month, compared with a forecast for a 5.86% rise in November in a Reuters poll and followed October’s 5.98% increase.
The pace, however, is still far above the central bank’s target range of 1% to 3%, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will continue to gradually raise interest rates to bring prices back within target.
The headline CPI in December is expected to rise at a similar pace to the November reading, senior commerce ministry official Poonpong Naiyanapakorn told a briefing.
Average headline inflation is still expected at 5.5% to 6.5% for the whole of 2022 and should fall to 2% to 3% in 2023 due to a base effect and a global recession risk, he said.
The core CPI index in November was up 3.22% from a year ago, versus a forecast rise of 3.20%, and following October’s 3.17%, the ministry said.
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