BANGKOK – The Bank of Thailand has reported that the national economy has continued expanding on the back of exports and tourism growth.
Ms. Pornpen Sodsrichai, Director of the Economic Analysis Office at the Bank of Thailand, said on Thursday that the Thai economy continued to expand in July, when exports grew 8.0% from last year and tourism expanded 4.8% year-over-year.
However, Ms. Pornpen noted that private consumption grew at a slower pace as falling farm product prices resulted in a contraction in farm income, while spending on durable goods continued growing.
Meanwhile, private investment grew, as reflected by the increase in construction material sales and permitted construction areas, and public spending also rose as a result of higher disbursements of a provincial development budget and constructions projects of the Department of Highways.
Thailand’s headline inflation was 0.17% in July, an increase from minus-0.05% due to an increase in retail petroleum prices following the increase in the global crude oil price, while the baht remained strong and helped attract foreign investors into the local stock market.
