BANGKOK – Once again, the Thai Prime Minister has requested that the Bank of Thailand consider reducing policy interest rates in order to help people during this period of low inflation. He pleaded late at night.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin addressed a message on the X in the middle of the night, pointing out that the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) announced on Monday, February 19, that the Thai economy is in a critical state.
He noted that Danucha Pitchayanan, Secretary-General of the NESDB, emphasised that financial measures must be applied to assist propel the Thai economy forward, particularly by reducing the burden on individuals and SMEs through careful consideration of various interest rate measures.
“The NESDB Secretary-General agrees that interest rates should be reduced. I’d like to request that the Monetary Policy Committee hold an emergency meeting to discuss cutting interest rates before the regular meeting,” he added.
PM Settha also criticised Mr. Danucha, saying, “You should have spoken at the MPC meeting last week. I’m not sure what the goal of the remarks is, except to say that you did your job when you should have done it earlier.”
Earlier, the Prime Minister answered questions from the media in Udon Thani Province on his request to the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to consider lowering interest rates, but received no response. The PM stated that he had spoken with Mr. Danucha, and Mr. Danucha stated that he had spoken with the governor of the Bank of Thailand that it is time to lower interest rates.
“So I asked him, Why don’t you speak in public? and use clear words. The NESDB Secretary-General, the Governor of the Bank of Thailand, and I are all economics graduates. We’re not here to defeat each other. But is it time for interest rate cuts yet?”The Prime Minister said.
He went on to remark, “I’m not just going to reduce interest rates. However, as we can see from the data, lowering interest rates is also a method of easing the burden on Thais as a whole. For example, we are working to provide the digital wallet scheme as soon as possible.”
According to the NESDC press release on February 19, 2024, the Thai economy in the fourth quarter of 2024 expanded only by 1.7 percent (%YoY), accelerating from a growth of 1.4 percent in the previous quarter. After being seasonally adjusted, the economy decreased by 0.6 percent from the third quarter (%QoQ sa). In 2023, the Thai economy expanded by 1.9 percent, decelerating from a 2.5-percent expansion in 2022.
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