Thailand’s 2023 GDP expands 1.9%, slower than expected

People shop at a supermarket inside a department store in central Bangkok, Thailand, December 28, 2016. Picture taken Dec 28, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/file photo

BANGKOK   – Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.9 percent in 2023, the planning agency said on Monday, as higher tourist numbers and private consumption were undercut by falls in manufacturing and public spending.

The weaker-than-expected growth raises the case for an interest rate cut at the central bank’s next policy review on April 10, after it left the key rate steady at 2.5 percent, the highest in more than a decade, in a split vote. Two dissenters favored a rate reduction.

Growth in 2024 was expected at 2.2-3.2 percent, lower than the 2.7 percent-3.7 percent projection provided by the agency in November.

State planning agency chief Danucha Pichayanan told a press conference that fourth quarter GDP was up 1.7 percent versus a 2.5-percent expansion forecast in a Reuters poll.