Local product prices to rise 3-7 per cent

The department's director-general, Yanyong Phuangrach, made the remark yesterday in the department's seminar on its price-monitoring policy direction.

The price of powdered milk is expected to rise 5 per cent next year, while that of steel is expected to surge between 4 and 7 per cent, cement 7 to 8 per cent and daily consumer products 3 to 4 per cent.

Prices of chemical fertiliser and car batteries are expected to surge 5 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

The forecast is in response to the expected price hike of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of imported raw materials next year.

The department also forecast that oil prices next year would hover at US$65-$70 per barrel, while the foreign exchange rate would linger at Bt34-Bt35 per US dollar.

Yanyong added that the price of domestic agricultural products next year would remain unchanged from this year, due to expected stable supply in the local market.

He said the department had no plan to allow local steelmakers to mark up their product price next month. This is to allay concerns on a possible steel-price hike in the domestic market with the steel price in the global market having moved up.

The global price of steel scrap this month is $245 per tonne and that of the billets is $400 per tonne.