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Thai Economy Grows For Second Consecutive Quarter 78 days ago
(RTTNews) - Thailand's economy grew sequentially for the second consecutive quarter in the third quarter, indicating a technical recovery of the economy, an official report showed. However, on an annual basis, the economy continued to contract.
Data released by the Office Of the National Economic and Social Development Board said the country's gross domestic product or GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 1.3% in the third quarter, slower than the 2.2% growth in the second quarter. Economists expected a growth of 2.3%. This was the second consecutive GDP growth, after four consecutive quarters of contraction.
Year-on-year, the economy continued to contract, although at a slower pace. The GDP declined 2.8% in the third quarter, compared to the 4.9% fall in the second quarter. On a yearly basis, this is the fourth consecutive quarter of decline. Economists expected a 3.2% drop in GDP.
The slower annual pace of decline in GDP in the third quarter was mainly attributed to a 4.7% rise in government expenditure. At the same time, household consumption and investment declined by 1.3%, easing from the 2.2% fall in the previous quarter. Total investment fell 6.3%, slowing sharply from the 10.2% fall in the second quarter. Within this, public investments grew 8%, while private investments were down 12.2%.
The improvement in household spending was attributed to the stimulus package of the government and a fall in the jobless rate. During the third quarter, the jobless rate dropped to 1.2% from 1.8% in the previous quarter. Similarly, the number of unemployed persons fell to 460,000 from 673,000 in the second quarter. The consumer confidence index also improved, to 74.5 in the third quarter from 72.5 in the second quarter.
In the external sector, exports of goods and services dropped 15% year-on-year in the third quarter, while imports fell 23.8%. This compares with a 21.7% fall in exports and a 25.6% drop in imports in the second quarter. The country recorded a trade surplus of THB 235.5 billion, higher than the surplus of THB 158.8 billion in the second quarter.
The output approach of GDP analysis revealed that the GDP growth came about from a slower pace of fall in the non-agricultural sector, partly offset by a quicker pace of decline in agriculture. Non-agriculture output slipped 2.8%, bettering from a 8% drop in the second quarter. However, agricultural sector output dropped 2.5% compared to the 1.3% fall in the previous quarter.
Last week, the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was confident the economy would grow in the fourth quarter this year, with the global economy now having passed the worst. The Prime Minister expects 3.5% growth next year, after a contraction of between 3% and 3.5% this year.
In its latest monetary policy meeting, the Bank of Thailand forecast a growth of 3.3% to 5.3% for 2010. Moreover, it improved its forecast for 2009, with the economy expected to contract between 2.5% and 3.5% this year compared to a 3% to 4.5% contraction it projected earlier.
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