BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's annual consumer inflation rate fell to its lowest in 35 months in January, the commerce ministry said on Monday.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) fell 1.11% from a year earlier, versus a 0.83% year-on-year fall in the previous month.

The figure compared with a forecast fall of 0.82% for January in a Reuters poll.

The core CPI increased 0.52% year-on-year in January, versus a forecast rise of 0.57%.

The decline in January was the fourth in as many months and was driven by government energy subsidies, lower food prices, and a high base effect from last year, the ministry said.

It was the ninth straight month that headline inflation was below the central bank's target range of 1% to 3%.

(This story has been corrected to say inflation fell to 35-month low, not the consumer price index, in paragraph 1)