BoT Publishes Minutes From September Monetary Policy Meeting

The Bank of Thailand has published the edited minutes from its most recent monetary policy meeting, when members voted unanimously to raise the key policy rate by 25bp to 1.00%:

• The Committee assessed that "Thailand's trading partner economies were projected to slow down, with growth revised down from 3.4 percent in 2022 and 3.1 percent in 2023 to 2.9 and 2.6 percent, respectively." In addition, "global financial markets were volatile, driven by concerns over soaring inflation and restrictive monetary policy by several central banks."
• Domestically, "the Thai economy would continue to recover at 3.3 percent in 2022 and 3.8 percent in 2023, down from 3.3 percent and 4.2 percent previously projected." Economic growth will be supported by above-forecast increase in foreign tourist arrivals, rebounding private consumption and expansion in exports.
• The Committee noted that headline inflation outlook for this year remains largely unchanged and price growth is expected to gradually slow as cost-push factors ease. "The risks to the baseline inflation forecast were largely symmetric."
• Policymakers deemed the magnitude of baht depreciation "moderate" relative to regional peers, with no unusual movements in capital flows. They flagged more uncertainty ahead, listing "inflationary pressures, monetary policy tightening by major central banks, as well as the global growth outlook" as key risk factors.
• Click here to see the full document.