BANGKOK, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's consumer inflation rose at a faster-than-expected pace of 7.1 percent year-on-year in May, the highest level since July 2008, on soaring energy and food prices, official data showed on Monday.
Growth of the country's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, exceeded April's 4.65 percent and beat a market expectation of 5.78 percent for May.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 1.4 percent from April, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The ministry attributed the CPI growth to higher food prices and energy costs, which surged 37.24 percent from one year earlier in May.
The core CPI, which excludes raw food and energy prices, was up 2.28 percent year-on-year, also beating a forecast of 2.2 percent.
The commerce ministry expected the CPI growth to further accelerate in June and average at 4.5 percent for the whole year of 2022.
During the first five months of the year, the CPI climbed 5.19 percent from a year earlier, while the core CPI grew 1.72 percent year-on-year.
The country's CPI growth has remained above the Thai central bank's 2022 target range of 1-3 percent for five consecutive months. The Bank of Thailand raised its inflation forecast for this year to 4.9 percent, up from the projection of 1.7 percent it made in December 2021. ■