Thai Growth Quickens in Q2 on Higher Consumption, Tourism
Thailand's economic growth strengthened in the second quarter due to higher consumption, tourism and exports, official data showed on Monday (Aug 19), and the government narrowed its full-year growth forecast range.
Thailand's economy grew 2.3% year-on-year in Q2 2024, driven by higher consumption, tourism, and exports. The GDP forecast for the full year is now 2.3% to 2.8%, up from the previous range. Despite growth, challenges include high household debt and sluggish exports.
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy grew 2.3 per cent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, data from the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) showed, beating analysts' expectations for a 2.1 per cent expansion in a Reuters poll.
In the January-March quarter of 2024, gross domestic product (GDP) rose an upwardly revised 1.6 per cent on the year.
The NESDC now expects GDP growth of between 2.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent this year, narrowing from its previous forecast range of 2.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent. Last year's growth was 1.9 per cent.
Thailand's economy has lagged regional peers as it faces high household debt and borrowing costs as well as sluggish exports amid a slowdown in top trading partner China.
The planning agency maintained its export growth forecast at 2 per cent for this year.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
