*
April headline CPI +2.67% y/y vs +2.70% in Reuters poll
*
April core CPI +1.66% y/y vs +1.70% in poll
*
Headline inflation seen below 2% in May - ministry
(Adds officials' comments in paragraphs 5-6, forecasts in
paragraph 7)
BANGKOK, May 3 (Reuters) - Thailand's headline inflation
dropped to its lowest in 16 months in April thanks to lower
energy and food prices and a high base in 2022, the commerce
ministry said on Wednesday.
The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.67% in April
from a year earlier, close to a rise of 2.70% forecast in a
Reuters poll, and against March's 2.83% increase.
The core CPI index in April was up 1.66% from a year ago,
the slowest in 15 months, and below a forecast increase of
1.70%.
It was the second month in a row that headline inflation
came in within the central bank's target range of 1% to 3%. The
commerce ministry on Wednesday said headline inflation should
fall sharply in May due to a high base in 2022 and lower fuel
prices.
"Inflation could be less than 2% in May as last year's base
was very high... the figure might be the lowest in 20 months,"
commerce ministry official Poonpong Naiyanapakorn told a press
conference.
Ministry official Wichanun Niwatjinda said headline
inflation was expected at less than 3% in the April-June quarter
and that spending ahead of Thailand's May 14 election had been
discounted.
The commerce ministry maintained its forecast for average
headline inflation at between 1.7% and 2.7% for the year, which
was cut last month from 2% to 3%.
In January to April, headline inflation was 3.58%, with the
core rate at 2.09%, the ministry said.
In March, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) raised its policy
interest rate by a quarter point to 1.75%, and said its
tightening would continue since inflation risks persisted.
It will next review policy on May 31, when economists expect
a further hike.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Satawasin Staporncharnchai and
Kitiphong Thaichareon; Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya
Kapoor)
