BANGKOK, Feb 1 (TNA) — Consumption, the private sector’s spending and tourism caused the Thai economy to grow continuously in December 2018, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) said.
BoT’s senior director for macroeconomics Don Nakornthab said the economy grew continuously from the previous month as consumption in the private sector increased in all spending categories. Production in the industrial sector kept rising and overall purchasing power improved as farmers enjoyed rising rice prices.
The number of foreign tourists increased by 7.7% from the same period in the previous year. The increase was obvious among tourists from Malaysia, India, South Korea and Russia. In December, the number of Chinese visitors rose for the first time in five months after the July boat tragedy in Phuket.
That resulted from new direct flight services being routed to Thailand and the waived visa-on-arrival fee on Nov 15, 2018. Chinese tourists also played important roles in raising the number of visitors to Thailand, Mr Don said.
In December the value of exports dropped by 1.6% and the value of imports fell by 6.7% year-on-year. Government spending decreased slightly. Headline inflation ran at 0.36%, slower by 0.94% from the previous month due to the lower prices of local retail oil.
The economy in the fourth quarter of 2018 expanded continuously from the third quarter. Besides, Mr Don said the number of Chinese visitors would further increase in January. (TNA)
