Thai Government Blames Ukraine War for Highest Inflation in 13 Years
According to Thailand’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, March’s inflation rate was 5.73%, the highest in 13 years due to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ronnarong Phoolpipat, the TPSO director-general, said that headline prices ran at 5.73% in March due to rising prices of goods and services in accordance with their higher costs.
Energy and imported raw materials, as well as transport fees, were included in the inflation calculator.
According to Ronnarong, sanctions from the United States and its allies against Russia affected worldwide economies, especially developing countries that felt the effects on their fragile economies.
Nevertheless, he reported that fresh food prices rose slightly compared to last year.
Using OPEC crude oil prices of US$90-100 per barrel, the exchange rate of 32-34 baht per dollar, and Thai economic growth of 3.5-4.5%, the Commerce Ministry predicted inflation will run at 4.0-5.0% this year.
Mr. Ronnarong said that if inflation stays at 4-5% throughout this year, it will be the highest in 13 years. Inflation, he said, is mainly due to external factors, and any attempts to reduce it will not succeed.
Biden blames inflation on Vladimir Putin
Meanwhile, NBC News reports prices in the United States have skyrocketed 7.9 percent over the past year, according to the February report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fastest rate of inflation since January 1982.
President Biden thinks he has a boogeyman to pin the problem on Vladimir Putin.
The Biden administration blamed the Russian president Thursday for the rapid American price hikes, as it did earlier in the week when it came to spiking gas prices.
Unfortunately for Biden, blaming the effects on Putin is a tactic that’s unlikely to work. As he witnessed from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue more than four decades ago, rampant inflation has the potential to steamroll the political fortunes of presidents in both parties — and it’s difficult for them to use geopolitics as a way out.
It’s certainly the case that there will be some economic impact on Americans that Biden can credibly attribute to the steps he’s taking in response to Russia’s war.
On Friday, Biden called for the suspension of normal trade relations with Russia. This, if approved by Congress, would bring the U.S. into line with sanctions already imposed on Russia by the European Union and the Group of Seven industrial nations.
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