1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,490.46 points, decreased 18.41 points or 1.22% with a trading value of 45 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market edged lower in the same direction as global markets after the Fed’s minutes showed that the central bank is likely to hike interest rates further as inflation showed slow progress in decline, resulting in a selloff in risks assets, especially big-cap stocks in the Thai market for safer investment such as bonds.
2) OPEC Looks to Add More Members to the Alliance
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is looking to add more producers to the alliance, according to the organization’s Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais.
The Secretary General told reporters on Wednesday when asked if the group is trying to recruit more members with a short reply “I am, yes.”
Ecuador is seen as the top prospect after the exit in 2020 because of political circumstances. However, the group sent an invitation in May for Ecuador to rejoin the alliance.
OPEC has 13 members, mostly countries in the Middle East, North and West Africa and South America.
3) Thailand Trims Down Full-Year Inflation Forecast to 1%-2% as Prices Fall
The Thai inflation forecast for 2023 has been cut from 1.7%-2.7% to 1%-2%, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday, after consumer prices in June dropped to their lowest level since 2021 due to lower energy and food prices.
Official data indicated that the price index increased by 0.23% in June compared to the same month a year ago, which was lower than the 0.53% gain seen in May but still above market estimates of a decline of 0.0% to 0.15%.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core gauge grew 1.32% annually, its lowest rate since the beginning of 2022 and below the 1.4% forecast. The ministry reported that consumer prices increased by 0.6% from May to June, which was higher than the 0.4% increase that was predicted.
Officials at the Bank of Thailand (BOT) recently stated that it is likely to continue with monetary tightening despite price pressures easing each month this year and being below the BOT’s 1% to 3% target range. This is because a tourism-led pickup in economic activity and possibly higher spending by a new government pose risks to inflation.
