BANGKOK: Inflation in Thailand rose for the first time in four months in March as the economy recovered from last year's floods, but the increase is unlikely to change the central bank's policy of holding rates to support the still fragile recovery.
Headline annual inflation increased to 3.45 percent in March from 3.35 percent in February. The annual inflation rate hit 4.19 percent in both November and December, when flooding was severe.
Core inflation -- which strips out fresh food and energy and which the central bank aims to keep in a range of 0.5-3.0 percent -- was 2.77 percent on-year in March, compared with 2.72 percent in February.
Annual food inflation eased slightly to 7.07 percent in March from 7.18 percent in February and 10.21 percent in November, as the floods worsened and seriously disrupted supply networks.
"Thai inflation, albeit higher, is still quite low, compared with other countries, and that reflects a better outlook for the economy, which has started to recover," Yanyong Puangrach, permanent secretary at the Commerce Ministry told a news conference.
He said the ministry, which published the data, still maintained its forecast for headline inflation of 3.3-3.8 percent for this year. The central bank forecasts 3.4 percent.
For the first quarter, the inflation rate was 3.39 percent from a year earlier, and the ministry forecast it would be 3.5 percent in the second quarter.