Update Market Outlooks and Investment Perspectives as of August 2023

Update for you is here!!! First-half investment, GDP, inflation, domestic and foreign investments, along with factors to watch and challenges for the second half. Special! investment advice for MTL's unit-linked customers from fund managers from Muang Thai Life Assurance PCL.

US inflation rate in June 2023 expanded at 3.0% YoY, decreasing from the previous month as the inflation remained above the target level of 2% and the US labor market was still strong.

Following the Fed’s meeting, the policy interest rate would be maintained at 5.00 -5.25% as the market expected, to allow the economic adjustment to the strict monetary policy in the previous period.

Fed announced a policy interest rate increase of 0.25%, and there is a view that Fed would raise the interest rate one more time this year, passing the latest Fed’s dot plot median projection. It was expected that Fed would not raise the policy interest rate any further and would start lowering the interest rate within the beginning of the second half of the year.