October 1, 2009
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai consumer prices fell by 1.0 percent in September, the ninth consecutive month to see a year-on-year contraction, the commerce ministry said Thursday.
The fall was owing to a significant drop in transportation and communication prices, said Pimpapan Chansilpa, deputy permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry.
But prices inched up 0.2 percent from the previous month owing to a rise in the cost of food items such as rice, fruit and vegetables and chicken.
For the first nine months of 2009, Thai inflation dropped 1.7 percent, mainly due to a fall in oil, power and water prices.
But the Commerce Ministry maintained its annual inflation rate for 2009 at between zero and minus 1.0 percent on expectations that consumer prices would move into positive territory in the last quarter, Pimpapan said.
The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile energy and food costs, edged down 0.1 percent year-on-year in September, the ministry said.
