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BoT anticipates stronger economic growth in Q2

The central bank expects overall economic growth in the second quarter of 2018 to outperform the first quarter, thanks to rising exports.

Pornpen Sodsrichai, Director of the Economic Analysis Office at the Bank of Thailand (BoT), says the central bank is confident that the country’s GDP growth in the second quarter will be higher than that of the first quarter which accelerated to a five-year high of 4.8% year-on-year.

The second quarter GDP expansion was driven by thriving exports, tourism, and private consumption.

According to the director, some risk factors that could hamper Thailand’s GDP growth in the second half of 2018 include the tensions between China and the US which could lead into a trade war, international economic policies, and the unbalanced debt structure in Thailand.

Thai exports in June were valued at 21.755 billion US dollars, an increase of 10% year-on-year. And in the second quarter, exports surged 12.3% to 63 billion dollars.

In the meantime, Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) grew for 14 consecutive months in June 2018 at 4.7%, according to the Office of Industrial Economics.

Information and Source
Reporter : Thammarat Thadaphrom
Rewriter : Rodney McNeil
National News Bureau & Public Relations : http://thainews.prd.go.th


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