The Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) jointly held a conference on Friday (2 Dec) to discuss the central banks’ roles in economic growth, inflation control and other issues.
The conference, held under the theme “Central Banking Amidst Shifting Ground,” attracted senior executives from foreign central banks as well as international financial institutions to exchange views on economic conditions, inflation, financial innovations and climate change.
In the opening remarks, BOT Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput highlighted three challenges facing central banks worldwide, namely a rapidly changing economic backdrop that has transformed the nature of the underlying policy challenge, shifting conceptual frameworks needed to guide policy, and emerging institutional pressure points on policy mandates and central bank independence.
Sethaput said inflation has “returned with a vengeance,” adding that the strong post-pandemic rebound in global demand – combined with a rotation of that demand from services to goods – put immense pressure on global supply chains.
He also said increasing fragmentation and the aging population, along with the costly but necessary green transition, will likely exert supply headwinds and upward price pressures going forward.
Sethaput said, “Maintaining economic and financial stability amidst the shifting fault lines will require a steady hand,” noting that it will also require “staying focused on achieving our core mandates, ensuring that expectations for our policy goals are commensurate with the tools we have while recognizing the potential unintended side effects of those tools.” (NNT)
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