Thai Household Costs Surge Sevenfold as Oil Prices Bite
Thai household costs jumped sevenfold in the second quarter due to rising fuel and commodity prices, with Bangkok and surrounding provinces hit hardest and transportation accounting for nearly half the increase.
Thai Household Costs Surge Sevenfold as Oil Prices Bite
Rangsit University economist Atthakorn Pisalwanich has released the third-quarter 2026 household cost-of-living index, revealing the impact of rising fuel and commodity prices on Thai families. The national cost-of-living index stood at 114.4 in the second quarter before declining to 110.8 in the third quarter, with forecasts predicting a rise to 111.9 in the fourth quarter.
Bangkok and surrounding provinces face the highest burden, with households there reporting the steepest increases in the second quarter at 10,170.3 baht per household per quarter. The national average reached 8,362.4 baht, a sevenfold jump from 1,183.6 baht in the first quarter. Nearly 50 percent of the cost increase came from transportation and fuel, followed by food and beverages at 23.9 percent and housing at 16.4 percent.
The groups most severely affected include salaried workers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangkok and nearby provinces, as well as farmers and fishing communities in other provinces. This suggests that government relief measures should be tailored to the different occupational structures and spending patterns across regions.
The economist has proposed seven recommendations for government action, including offering low-interest credit, temporarily reducing electricity and transport costs for SMEs, lowering the cost of fertilizer, animal feed, energy, and logistics while connecting farmers directly to consumers, and capping electricity and cooking gas bills for low- and middle-income households without subsidizing excessive energy users.
