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The effects of last year's great flood and the current hot weather have made people think the prices of consumer products are continually rising, when they are actually on a decline, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Thursday.

She said the weather was hot in April, and parents also had to find the money to pay their children's tuition fees last month, she said at Government House.

"The flood and the hot weather, when combined, could make people feel that product prices are more expensive," Ms Yingluck said. "From the information gathered by the government, we can assure you that prices are on a downward trend."

She said the government will continue to find measures to help the general public, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises and low-income earners.

Some of the government's short term measures were to increase the minimum salary of civil servants with bachelor degrees to 15,000 baht a month and the daily minimum wage to 300 baht, she said.

Many factories had just reopened following last year's great flood and they should be in full operation in the second half of this year. Prices should return to normal levels by then, she said.

The premier said she had instructed the Commerce Ministry to set up a centre for receiving complaints about unfair product prices and to implement stringent inspections of prices.

She said the government had also been trying to fix the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price for the household sector.

People might perceive that food prices are higher, but the government also considers tangible economic figures, she added.

Early this week, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said inflationary pressures had shown signs of easing, and prices for many goods had decreased compared with last year.

"It shows government policies have had a positive impact," Mr Kittiratt said.

However, public surveys show that inflation perceptions have definitely risen in recent months, in part due to higher energy prices, seasonal factors affecting food prices and price hikes by manufacturers.