BANGKOK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's headline inflation fell for the fourth consecutive month, reaching a 35-month low in January due to government energy subsidies and softened food prices, official data showed on Monday.
The consumer price index (CPI), a key indicator of inflation, declined 1.11 percent from a year earlier in January, following a 0.83 percent decrease in December 2023, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Better market supply and last year's high competitive base both contributed to falling fresh food prices, which in turn lowered the inflation rate. Meanwhile, prices for other goods and services continued to change in a normal direction, the ministry said in a statement.
The January inflation growth was below the Bank of Thailand's target range of 1-3 percent for the ninth month.
The core CPI, which excludes raw food and energy prices, edged down to 0.52 percent in January from 0.58 percent in the previous month.
There were no concerns about deflation as the core rate remained positive, said Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director general of the ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office.
For the first quarter of this year, the ministry anticipates headline inflation to fall by 0.7 percent year on year, owing mainly to government efforts to reduce living costs by lowering energy prices, Poonpong told a news conference.
He also noted that the ministry maintains its headline CPI projection to range between minus 0.3 percent and 1.7 percent in 2024. ■
