Thai Q3 GDP growth misses forecast amid exports slowdown

A view of Bangkok’s port along Chao Phraya River is photographed during sunset in Bangkok, Thailand, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File photo

BANGKOK – Thailand’s economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the third quarter, weighed down by weak exports and agriculture but supported by consumption and the continued recovery in tourism, the state planning agency said on Monday.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has faced sluggish global demand while investor confidence in Thailand dropped despite the end of a political deadlock following an election in May.

The new government, which took office in August, has planned various stimulus measures.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 1.5 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said on Monday, down from the 2.4 percent growth predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.

GDP had risen 1.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter.

On a quarterly basis, GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent in the September quarter, versus a forecast rise of 1.2 percent, and against 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted growth in the previous quarter.

The planning agency expected the economy to grow 2.5 percent this year, the lower end of a previous forecast range of 2.5 percent to 3 percent. It predicted GDP growth of between 2.7 percent and 3.7 percent in 2024.

The economy expanded 2.6 percent last year.

The agency predicted a 2- percent contraction in exports for this year, verses a 1.8- percent fall seen earlier. It saw shipments rising 3.8 percent in 2024, however.