Bank of Thailand says country’s economy expected to expand as anticipated.

The Bank of Thailand lowered its policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, the first rate cut since May 2020.

After keeping the rate at 0.5% for a long period, the bank increased the rate to 2.5% gradually from August 2022 to September 2023, then kept the rate constant for the last five monetary policy meetings.

The bank said the country’s economy is expected to expand as anticipated.

“Meanwhile, headline Inflation is projected to gradually return towards the target range by the end of 2024,” it said.

“Moreover, the lower policy rate would not impede debt deleveraging given the expected slowdown in loan growth and would remain neutral and consistent with economic potential,” the bank added.