Thailand's headline consumer price index rose by 2.79% in May from a year earlier, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday.
The reading compared with a forecast increase of 3.10% in a Reuters poll, and followed a rise of 2.89% in April.
April's rise was the first annual increase in the headline CPI since March 2025, and largest since February 2023.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and fresh food prices, rose by 0.92% in May from a year earlier.
June headline inflation was expected to rise and could reach 3%, Nantapong Chiralerspong, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a briefing.
The ministry maintained its full-year inflation forecast of 1.5% to 2.5% this year, inside the Bank of Thailand's target range of 1% to 3%.
