BANGKOK, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's headline inflation rose in April, marking its first increase in a year as domestic fuel prices spiked amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions in the Middle East, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Southeast Asian country's consumer price index (CPI) jumped 2.89 percent last month compared to a year earlier, rebounding sharply from a 0.08 percent decline in March, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The April reading was the highest gain since February 2023, pushing headline inflation toward the upper bound of the central bank's target range of 1 percent to 3 percent.
The spillover from the Middle East conflict has triggered a subsequent surge in public transport fares, alongside elevated prices for prepared food as producers pass on higher costs to consumers, the ministry said in a statement.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food and energy prices, climbed 0.83 percent in April, up from a 0.57 percent rise in the month before and registering the strongest growth in nine months.
For the first four months of 2026, the headline CPI rose 0.32 percent compared to the same period last year.
Headline inflation is expected to remain on a positive trajectory in May as cost pressures have led major operators to adjust consumer goods prices upward to reflect higher raw material and transportation expenses, said Nantapong Chiralerspong, director-general of the ministry's trade policy and strategy office.
However, Nantapong noted that the government's cost-of-living relief measures and a drop in year-on-year electricity charges, despite fuel adjustment hikes, could potentially decelerate inflation.
The ministry revised its headline CPI projection to rise between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent this year. ■
