BANGKOK, 12 May 2012 – The central bank has pointed out that the government’s moves to rein in consumer goods prices will only temporarily slow down the impact of rising inflation.
The Bank of Thailand (BoT)’s Assistant Governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan said on Friday that the government’s decision to expand the list of price-controlled items will likely be effective in delaying the increase in inflationary pressure, for a while.
However, he believes that, over the long term, higher costs will push market mechanism back in place and prices will move according to the rules of demand and supply again.
In any case, Mr. Paiboon stated that it remains to be seen if the Internal Trade Department will, next week, present to the Cabinet a proposal to include ready-to-eat food into the list of price-controlled items.
The suggestion to expand the list was made during Thursday meeting by the state-appointed central committee on goods and service prices. Currently, there are 42 items on the government’s list of price-controlled items.
