BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s central bank will use a policy mix to address uneven recovery in Southeast Asian’s second-largest economy, its governor said on Saturday.
Interest rates alone cannot fix economic problems, Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput told a press conference.
“We are ready to make adjustments that are appropriate to the situation,” he said. “If the outlook changes, then we are ready to adjust policy rates.”
The BOT left its key interest rate unchanged for a fifth straight meeting on Wednesday, saying the current level was neutral as it waits to see whether the country’s new prime minister will change to economic stimulus policies.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in last week after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed through a court order. Paetongtarn has said she would continue but review the government’s flagship digital wallet cash-handout programme worth 500 billion baht ($15 billion).
Thailand’s economy grew 2.3% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, accelerating from the 1.6% growth in the previous three months, but analysts said fiscal policy uncertainty clouded the outlook.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Chayut Setboonsarng, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Thanadech Staporncharnchai; Editing by William Mallard)
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