It was noted that the value of exports, excluding gold and adjusted for seasonal factors, remained stable from the previous month. The decrease in exports across several products was attributed to the sluggish global demand, structural issues hindering exports, and the impacts of drought problems, reported state news agency NNT.
Specifically, the exports of white rice to Indonesia and South Africa declined due to reduced rice production. Exports of machinery and equipment to Japan and the US also fell, along with a continuous decrease in petrochemicals and chemicals exports, following China’s shift towards increased domestic production and reduced import demand in ASEAN countries.
However, some export categories saw an increase, such as personal and commercial vehicles to Australia, diesel fuel to ASEAN countries, and hard drives to Hong Kong and China, following the product delivery cycle.
According to the BoT, the industrial production index, adjusted for seasonal factors, continued to decline, especially in the automotive sector, mainly due to the production of commercial vehicles.
This was partly influenced by financial institutions being cautious in extending credit, coupled with the increasing trend of imported electric vehicle use. While the petroleum and hard disk drive sectors saw a reduction due to producers gradually clearing inventory after significant prior production, the food and beverage sector increased, primarily driven by sugar production, the BoT reported.
Private sector investment indicators, adjusted for seasonal factors, decreased after a previous acceleration, in line with industrial production and goods export trends.
Investment in machinery and equipment fell, following a decrease in capital goods imports and new commercial vehicle registrations, while domestic sales of machinery and equipment increased. Investment in the construction sector declined due to lower sales of construction materials, although the area permitted for construction showed an increase, said the NNT report.
Meanwhile, the BoT has indicated that it might revise down the previously projected Thai economic growth for 2023 from 2.4%. However, it is yet unclear whether the revision will fall below 2%, NNT said in a different report.
The BoT has stated that it awaits the first meeting of the year of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) scheduled for next Wednesday (Feb 7), which will also consider setting the policy interest rate, before making the revision.
Regarding the economic figures for January 2024, it is anticipated that economic activities will continue to benefit from public consumption and from the tourism sector. However, the recovery of export activities remains a focus, along with the longer-term impacts of global trade recovery, geopolitical conflicts and domestic fiscal policies, said the NNT report.
Previously, the Fiscal Policy Office announced a downward adjustment of Thailand’s economic growth projection for 2023 to 1.8%.
Additionally, on Feb 19, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council is scheduled to release the Thai economic performance for the fourth quarter of 2023 and a summary of the economic situation for the entire year, which is currently projected to grow at the rate of 2.5%.