BANGKOK, 27 Nov 2014 -Deputy Director-General of the Fiscal Policy Office Ekniti Nitithanprapas has predicted that domestic demand and investments will be the driving force of next year’s economy while fluctuations in the global dual-direction monetary policy will affect the local monetary and capital markets.
Mr. Ekniti was confident that next year’s economic growth would be larger than 4% with the consumer spending and investments playing as key elements. He thus urged the Government to urgently find measures to stimulate public spending, especially in the first quarter, as well as to quickly disburse its investment fund of 290 billion baht. He claimed that the lack of government investment is one of the main culprits behind the current slump in the economy this year.
The private sector’s spending has however returned to normal since the 3rd quarter, he added.
Nonetheless, he expressed his concerns over the factors that could hinder next year’s economic performance, which are the low prices of agricultural products and the 2-way global monetary policy. These factors would influence the capital movement in the world and would, in turn, cause fluctuations in the monetary and investment markets.
The FPO Deputy Director-General urged exporters to be extra careful next year, as the U.S. is likely to adjust up its benchmark rates, while the EU and Japan would continue their stimulus packages, which means the exchange rate would be highly fluctuated.
