Thailand Inflation Near 14-Year High

(RTTNews) - Thailand's consumer price inflation accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in May to reach its highest level in nearly fourteen years, mainly due to surging energy prices, figures from the Ministry of Commerce revealed on Monday.

The consumer price index climbed 7.1 percent year-over-year in May, faster than the 4.65 percent rise in the previous month. Economists had expected inflation to increase to 5.78 percent.

Moreover, the latest inflation was the strongest since July 2008, when prices had risen 9.2 percent.

The upward trend in inflation was largely driven by the 37.24 percent surge in energy prices. Transport costs also logged a double-digit growth of 13.14 percent and fresh food prices went up 5.82 percent.

Excluding fresh food and energy, core inflation came in at 2.28 percent in May, up from 2.0 percent in April. The expected rate was 2.2 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 1.40 percent in May.