Bank of Thailand (BoT) Senior Director Mathee Supapongse said on Friday that the Thai economy in May was expanding, particularly in the area of private consumption and investment.
Mr. Mathee stated that the positive trend was well illustrated in the recovering local auto sales, following the slowdown caused by last year’s flood crisis.
The BoT Senior Director said that Thailand’s private investment expanded 14 percent in May, as a result of the post-flood rehabilitation and stronger business confidence.
In addition, Thai exports grew 6.7 percent on-year, due to the recovery in the electronics, electrical appliance and automotive sectors, especially within the ASEAN market.
Concerning the situation in Europe, Mr. Mathee said that the exports to this market expanded 4.4. percent in the past month.
He added that the Eurozone debt crisis will likely not hurt Thai exports at least in the short term, although the impact seems inevitable over the long term.
In terms of inflationary pressure, the BoT Senior Director said that consumer prices rose 2.53 percent in May, compared with 2.47 percent in April, because of higher fresh food prices, while the baht has weakened from 30.88 to 31.36 baht per US dollar due to worries over the problems in Europe.
