On 29 April 2010, Bank of Thailand released the April 2010 Inflation Report, featuring recent developments in inflation and economic conditions, economic growth and inflation projections, and monetary policy in the last three months.

According to the report, the Thai economy in 2009 Quarter 4 continued to show robust signs of recovery, registering its third consecutive quarter-on-quarter growth and expanding year-on-year for the first time of the year. The recovery was driven primarily by exports and private domestic demand. Latest economic indicators in 2010 Quarter 1 – including the strong expansion in the Manufacturing Production Index (MPI), the high level of industrial capacity utilization, and increases in both consumer and business sentiments – pointed to the continuation of the recovery process with exports and private demand still driving the economy.

Meanwhile, inflationary pressure edged up from the previous quarter. Core inflation accelerated slightly following the economic recovery but remained below the lower bound of the policy target range, reflecting the impact of the government’s cost-of-living reduction measures. Headline inflation accelerated more noticeably due to the pick-up in raw food and domestic retail oil prices.

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