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Thailand's GDP Growth Exceeds Forecasts on Domestic Demand
Thailand’s gross domestic product rose 3.7 percent from a year ago, up from a revised 3.2 percent in the third quarter.
18 Feb 2019, 12:46 PM IST 
A vendor takes inventory at as store in the Yodpiman market near the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s economy grew at a faster pace in the fourth quarter than the previous three months, as local demand helped to offset a slide in exports.
Gross domestic product rose 3.7 percent from a year ago, up from a revised 3.2 percent in the third quarter, the National Economic and Social Development Council said on Monday. The median estimate of 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for expansion of 3.6 percent.
Key Insights
- The economy expanded 4.1 percent for the whole of 2018, compared with a revised 4 percent for the previous year. The NESDC expects growth of between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent this year, driven by household spending, investment and tourism
- Private consumption and investment drove fourth-quarter growth as
exports were hit by a slowdown in global demand, U.S.-China trade tensions and a strong currency - While local demand has remained resilient, Thailand is facing heightened political risks ahead of an election, which could hurt sentiment and domestic investment
- The Bank of Thailand, which kept its benchmark rate unchanged this month after the first hike in seven years in December, has said its “accommodative” monetary policy would remain appropriate in the period ahead
What Our Economists Say...“Thailand’s growth pickup in 2018 is unlikely to be sustained this year. Momentum may be damped by domestic risk from elections and external uncertainty from U.S. trade and monetary policies. Electoral turmoil in particular has scope to undermine the confidence of businesses and investors”-- Tamara Mast Henderson, Bloomberg Economics For more, see our Thailand Insight |
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- GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months, higher than the 0.7 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey
--With assistance from Michael Heath.
To contact the reporter on this story: Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Niluksi Koswanage at nkoswanage@bloomberg.net, Chris Bourke
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