The FINANCIAL — Thailand recorded another month of trade surplus in July even as exports and imports continued to decline, the Commerce Ministry said on August 27, according to Nasdaq.
Thailand’s trade surplus stood at $770 million in July, rising from the $150 million surplus registered in June.
The country’s customs-basis exports continued to fall for the seventh consecutive month in July by 3.56% from last year to $18.22 billion. However, the latest contraction rate is a slowdown from the 7.87% on-year decline in June.
During the first seven months of this year, the country’s overseas shipments contracted 4.66% from a year ago to $ 125.07 billion.
However, the ministry noted that, when calculated in baht, Thailand’s exports made a slight pick-up of 0.09% on-year growth, as the continued depreciation of the Thai currency played a part in the export drop. The baht has weakened by over 7% against the dollar since the beginning of the year.
Somkiat Triratpan, director of the Commerce Ministry’sTrade and Strategy Bureau, has attributed further contraction in July exports to the global economic slowdown, weak farm product prices, the 46.8% on-year fall in oil prices and the devaluation moves by various trading partners of Thailand.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s imports plunged 12.73% year-over-year to $17.45 billion in July, compared with the 0.21% on-year dip in the preceding month. From January to July, imports fell 8.64% year-over-year to $120.83 billion.
Somkiat added that Thai imports continued declining in July because of low oil prices and smaller importation of capital goods, particularly aircraft whose total value of imports stood at $200 million compared with the $700-million record of last July.
The Commerce Ministry projected that Thai exports will contract 3.0% this year–the latest target after its downward revision from the 1.2% on-year growth earlier this month.
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