Thai May factory output falls 3.14%, less than forecast

BANGKOK  – Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) in May dropped by a less than expected 3.14 percent from a year earlier as exports remained sluggish, the industry ministry said on Friday.

The figure compared with a forecast in a Reuters poll for a fall of 4.5 percent in May. Output contracted a revised 8.71 percent year-on-year in April.

In the January-May period, the MPI declined 4.49 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement.

Last month, it forecast factory output would show zero to 1 percent growth this year.

While exports remain soft, domestic demand has increased, driven by strength in the crucial tourism sector and higher investment, it said.

Industrial goods account for about 80 percent of total customs-based exports, which dropped by a less than expected 4.6 percent in May from a year ago.

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