Thailand’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.17 percent year-on-year in December 2021, led by higher costs of energy and vegetables, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.
The pace of growth eased from a rise of 2.71 percent registered in November last year.
The core CPI, which excludes raw food and energy prices, edged up 0.29 percent year-on-year in December 2021 and was up 0.05 percent from the previous month.
For the full year of 2021, the country’s CPI climbed 1.23 percent year-on-year, while the core CPI rose 0.23 percent.
Ronnarong Phoolpipat, an official with the commerce ministry, said the increase in inflation throughout 2021 stemmed not only from increasing energy prices but also rising vegetable prices due to lower productivity from the impact of floods.
The higher inflation was also attributed to the improving economic activities in the country, indicating a stabilizing situation of both demand and supply functions, Ronnarong said.