BANGKOK: Thailand's central bank expects recent monetary policy easing to help inflation return to its target, an assistant governor said on Monday, after August consumer prices came in below expectations.

The central bank is also worried about high household debt, particularly at a time of slowing economic growth, and it will closely monitor the situation, assistant governor Titanun Mallikamas said in a statement.

The country's headline inflation rate was 0.52% in August, the lowest since January, and stayed below the central bank's 1%-4% target range for a third straight month.

Last month, the central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since April 2015, by 25 basis points to 1.50%.