Thai Growth Set to Accelerate

Solid growth in exports, combined with a gradual improvement in domestic demand, has prompted an upward revision of Thailand’s economic outlook by the central bank. On July 5 the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Thailand announced it was revising its forecast for GDP growth from 3.4% to 3.5% for this year, and to 3.7% in 2018, up from its earlier projections of 3.6%, Yahoo reported. Thailand’s economic outlook improved in the second quarter, the bank said in a statement. It noted there were prospects for even better trade figures in the second half of 2017, citing expansion in merchandise exports across many product categories and destinations, as well as a recovery in tourism. While the BOT said increases in domestic demand were still soft and not yet broad-based, it forecast the gradual improvement seen in the first half of the year would continue. Private consumption, boosted by improvements in farm income, is projected to grow by a steady 3.1% through this year, maintaining the same rate in 2018.