Arkhom Termpittayapaisith in an interview with Reuters said that a weak baht was helping exports, which should grow 8% this year, and tourism. Arkhom said the Bank of Thailand (BOT)'s headline inflation target range of 1%-3% was still appropriate, despite consumer prices still exceeding the target. Last year's economic growth of 1.5% was among the slowest in the region, but the April-June period saw expansion of 2.5% from a year earlier and 0.7% from the previous quarter. Arkhom said third-quarter economic growth should be faster as more foreign tourists returned. Last month, the BOT raised its key interest rate for a second straight meeting, by a quarter point to 1.00%.

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