Thailand inflation balloons to a 13-month high

Average inflation for 2012 sat at 3%.

According to DBS, infation ended 2012 at a 13-month high of 3.6% YoY in December. This brings average inflation for 2012 to just 3.0%. Going forward, this subdued pace of inflation is unlikely to continue and the firm expects inflation to breach 4% by 2Q before stabilizing around that level for the rest of this year.

Here's more from DBS:

Fundamentally, price pressures are likely to come to the fore. The hike in minimum wages across the remaining 70 provinces and recovering external demand should translate into demand-pull pressures.

On the supply side, firms will have to deal with higher manpower costs and some of these costs are likely to be passed on to consumers. All these suggest that the rate cut cycle is over.

Instead, the central bank (BoT) is likely to keep the policy rate steady at 2.75% in 1H on account of the still-measured pace of inflation. Going into 2H price pressures may become more apparent and we have one 25bps rate hike penciled in for 4Q.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia