Thailand’s central bank, Bank of Thailand hiked its key policy rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to 0.75%, by keeping the country’s increasing inflationary pressures in check.
The last time the BOT raised the rate was in December 2018, and it had kept the rate at the record low of 0.5% since May 2020.
The rate hike is in line with consensus with economists as majority of them had anticipated the central bank would raise the rate by 25 basis points. Whilst only a handful of economists expected a-50 basis points hike.
Thailand, even has the highest food security in the Southeast Asia region, faces pressure from spiraling inflation, with the headline inflation rate hitting 7.61% in July, staying near June’s 14-year high of 7.66%, driven by skyrocketing energy and food prices.
