Thailand to go slow with rate hikes as pandemic drag lingersA shift by Thailand's central bank to a more hawkish footing this week stunned markets and appeared to finally end policymakers' tolerance for mounting price pressures, but a range of risks are likely to keep any tightening gradual. Other analysts see conviction in the central bank's acknowledgement of inflation as an issue, and have added a series of rate hikes to their projections for this year from none previously. "If the expected rate hikes disrupt the recovery or the global economy faces a severe slowdown, the BOT may choose to hit the brakes (on hikes)," Tisco Group economist Thammarat Kittisiripat said. He expects a quarter-point rate hike at each of the remaining three meetings this year, taking the rate to 1.25%. Kriengkrai Thiennukul, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said smaller firms have yet to recover from the pandemic.

Source: Bangkok Post June 10, 2022 10:15 UTC