The Bank of Thailand (BoT) should urgently hike interest rate to prevent a further spike in inflation and ease the burden on low-income groups already reeling from the rising cost of living, according to Korn Chatikavanij, a former finance minister.
The BoT should convene an emergency meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee to lift its benchmark rate from a record low of 0.5% to close the gap with the US rates, said Mr Korn, who was the nation’s finance minister for three years until 2011. Lowering the rate differential, the highest in the region, will help stem baht losses and limit the threat of imported inflation, he said.
