BANGKOK, 7 Feb 2014 The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) indicated January’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) hit 71.5, the lowest in 26 months.
The revelation was made by Rector of the UTCC Ms. Saowanee Thairungroj who stated all categories of CCI continued to drop for 10 months in a row and has hit the lowest point in 26 months since December 2011. She said that the driving factors of the fall include the local political instability, and the global economic fluctuation which could negatively affect Thai economic recovery rate and consumer’s income in the future.
The January CCI on the overall state of economy was recorded at 61.4 points, a slight drop from December’s 63.2 points, Ms. Saowanee said. Confidence in the economy during the particular month dropped from 55.4 to 53.8, the weakest in 23 months since March 2012. Confidence in the economy for the next 6 months decreased to 69 points from December’s 71.1 points, the lowest in 55 months since July 2009.
According to Ms. Saowanee, consumer confidence indices are largely affected by the currently imposed state of emergency, the delay in payment to farmers under the rice pledging scheme, the weakening baht, and the Bank of Thailand’s pessimistic growth projection for 2013. She also mentioned that other issues that should be keeping eyes on are the agricultural products which are not performing well in the market, and the uncertainty in the global economic recovery.
