BoT indicates little economic growth in July

BANGKOK, 29 August 2014 – The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has reported that economic figures in July were relatively stable compared to June while assuring that the Thai economy will definitely enjoy higher expansion in the latter half of this year. Ms Roong Mallikamas, Senior Director of the BoT’s Macroeconomic and Monetary Policy Department, said the July economy appeared to be stabilizing from the month before. She noted that the return of confidence and the increase of income in the non-agricultural sector helped push up household purchasing power, domestic consumption and demand as well as private investment. The acceleration of government spending was also beneficial to the economy. The export sector remained slow to recover, prompting the BoT to prepare to consider adjusting the annual export growth target down from the current 3 percent on September 17. Production slowdown also hindered the growth of the industrial sector. Nonetheless, the tourism sector recorded more foreign visitors to the Kingdom after their concerns had been eased. Both unemployment and inflation were on the decline. Even though economic improvements in July were deemed insignificant, Ms Roong gave assurances that more robust growth figures would be witnessed towards the end of the year.