Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has revealed that the country’s economy unexpectedly grew in the second quarter, helped by exports and government spending, even though fresh coronavirus outbreaks restricted consumption and tourism.
According to the NESDC, the economy expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, versus a forecast 1.4% drop in a Reuter’s poll.
The agency again cut its 2021 economic growth forecast to 0.7-1.2%, from 1.5-2.5%, as the outbreak and lockdown measures squeezed domestic activity amid the country’s slow vaccination rollout. The economy slumped 6.1% last year.
Meanwhile, the NESDC now expects exports to grow 16.3% this year, versus a 10.3% rise projected earlier, but predicts only 0.15 million foreign tourists this year, down from a previous forecast of 0.5 million, compared with nearly 40 million foreign visitors in 2019. (NNT)
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