The FINANCIAL — Thailand’s economic condition remained weak in July, with most key indicators registering declines due to weak external and domestic demand, according to Nasdaq.
The Bank of Thailand reported on August 31 that the private consumption index dropped 2.1% from a year earlier in July, widening from a revised 0.1% on-year slip in June. On a monthly basis, Thailand’s July PCI also fell 1.1% from June.
The index’s further decline “reflected consumers’ cautious spending as farm income contracted further on the back of lower farm output and prices and non-farm households’ income remained flat on top of their concern over the economic recovery and development on the drought situation,” according to the central bank’s statement.
Thailand’s private investment index inched up 0.5% from last year in July, almost unchanged from a revised 0.4% on- year rise in the previous month. The index was almost flat on a monthly basis in July.
“Private investment indicators remained at a low level,” the central bank said. “Construction investment decreased following the slowdown in the real estate sector…other investment in machinery and equipment was still subdued especially investment for production capacity expansion.”
Meanwhile, Thailand’s export contraction of 3.1% and import decline of 10.6% from a year earlier in July led to a trade surplus of $2.7 billion and a current account surplus of $2.1 billion.
Tourism continued to be a bright spot in the country’s economy in July as total arrivals rose 39.4% from a year earlier to 2.64 million, as the number of Russian visitors rose, offsetting the decline in the number of Chinese arrivals, the bank said.
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