Central bank keeps interest rate unchanged at 1.5 %

BANGKOK, Sept 27 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BoT) maintained the policy rate at 1.50 per cent and revised Thai 2016 GDP up to 3.8 per cent in the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today. The meeting voted unanimously to maintain the policy rate as the current accommodative monetary policy stance remained conducive to the continuation of economic growth, and it should foster the return of headline inflation to target although this could take some time, said Jaturong Jantarangs, Secretary of the MPC. The meeting also revised Thai 2017 GDP growth up to 3.8 per cent from 3.5 per cent due to potential growth in exports of goods and service. Thai exports are projected to expand 8 per cent from 5 per cent this year in accordance with the economic growth. Meanwhile, the Thai baht appreciated somewhat owing primarily to the weakening of US dollar, and Thailand’s current account surplus. However, the Thai baht’s movement relative to those of trading partners was largely unchanged. The BoT said in its statement that overall private consumption gradually expanded as household purchasing power was not sufficiently strong. Public investment remained an important growth driver, although it would likely slowdown in the near term following accelerated disbursement in the previous period. Nevertheless, the improved growth outlook was still subject to both domestic and external risks that warranted close monitoring, such as impacts from regulations on immigrant workers, uncertainties pertaining to US economic and foreign trade policies, and geopolitical risks, said the statement. (TNA)