BANGKOK: Official figures show that Thailand's consumer inflation grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 7.1% year-on-year in May, the highest level since July 2008, due to rising energy and food prices.

According to reports, growth of the country's consumer price index (CPI), a key indicator of inflation, above April's 4.65 percent and beat a market projection of 5.78 percent for May. 

As per the Ministry of Commerce, the CPI increased 1.4 percent on a monthly basis from April.  The Ministry of Finance ascribed the CPI increase to rising food and energy prices, which increased 37.24 percent from a year ago in May.

The core CPI, which excludes raw food and energy prices, increased 2.28 percent year over year, exceeding the 2.2 percent expectation. According to the Ministry, CPI rise would accelerate further in June, averaging 4.5 percent for the entire year of 2022.The CPI increased 5.19 percent from a year ago in the first five months of the year, while the core CPI increased 1.72 percent.

For the fifth month in a row, the country's CPI growth has remained above the Bank of Thailand's 2022 target range of 1-3 percent.  The central bank raised its inflation forecast for this year from 1.7 percent in December 2021 to 4.9 percent this year.

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