Experts:Reduced oil prices should boost national economy

BANGKOK, August 29 (TNA) - Experts say that a cut in oil prices on the domestic market, effective from early Friday morning, as ordered by the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), should help spur the Thai economy through people’s increasing purchasing power. Kesara Manchusree, President of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), opined that Thursday’s NCPO decision on reducing retail domestic benzene and gasohol prices should boost national economy, as every Thai sector and even national competitiveness would benefit from declined energy costs. Chirathep Seneewong, Spokesman of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), said that the cut in the retail oil prices would boost people’s purchasing power, assessing, however, that the drop in the retail gasoline prices should slightly affect the general inflation, but not the core inflation, and it should not, thus, pose any significant impact on the national economic system. Smith Banomyong, President of SCB Assets Management, also voiced his agreement, acknowledging that the cut of the retail oil prices would be positive as it would lower operational costs of every production base in the country. The Thai junta's order the cut in the domestic benzene and gasohol prices is aimed to help reduce people's costs of living and to reflect the real prices of benzene and gasohol. Domestic diesel prices, meanwhile, rose slightly, but they remain below 30 baht per litre to assist the local transport sector, in which a large number of vehicles rely on diesel.(TNA)