Economy Q2/2011 might slow down

BANGKOK, 4 April 2011 (NNT) – Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch) has indicated that the Thai economy in the second quarter this year might slow down although it was expanding well in February 2011 in many aspects.

KResearch reported that the Thai economy in February 2011 was growing continuously year-on-year from domestic spending to exports; however, there were some signals of economic slowdown partly due to the fewer operating days during the Chinese New Year Festival in February.

Some factors must be closely monitored from the rising production costs, oil prices and prices of consumer goods in the future. In addition, a suspension of some industrial plants affected by the recent twin disasters in Japan plus the nuclear power plant crisis might cause a shortage of raw materials for factories in Thailand.

KResearch expected that the Thai economic expansion in the first quarter this year would go further thanks to the export sector and the unexpectedly high income of farmers although the economy had slowed down by about 2.0% compared to the first quarter of 2010 when it registered a growth of 3.8% from the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, KResearch admitted that the Thai economy in the second quarter this year might slow down because of many negative factors such as the rising production costs, unrest in Arabian countries, the impact from the twin disasters in Japan and the southern flood in Thailand.