BANGKOK- Thailand’s exports rose for a third straight month in September but less than expected, data showed on Monday, and the commerce ministry said shipments would continue to increase in the final quarter of the year.
The ministry is targeting export growth of 2 percent this year, with the value expected at a record high of $290 billion, PoonpongNaiyanapakorn, head of the ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, rose 1.1 percent in September from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 2.85 percent increase in a Reuters poll.
Imports increased 9.9 percent in September from a year earlier, higher than a forecast increase of 6.0 percent in the poll.
That led to a trade surplus of $0.39 billion in September, smaller than the forecast of a $1.54 billion surplus.
In the first nine months of 2024, exports rose 3.9 percent from the same period in 2023, while imports were up 5.5 percent, resulting in a trade deficit of about $6 billion for the period.
A rapid appreciation of the Thai baht is hitting exporters and tourism spending, the central bank said on Monday, adding that the currency was gaining due to a weak dollar in the face of stronger regional currencies like the Yuan and Yen.
Exports and tourism are key drivers of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
The baht’s rapid rise comes ahead of a meeting between the central bank and Finance Ministry last month, where the Thai currency’s performance and the country’s inflation target were discussed.
The meeting follows months of government pressure on the BOT to cut interest rates and align with fiscal policy aimed at stimulating the economy.
The central bank had managed the baht’s volatility, BOT assistant governor Chayawadee Chai-anant told reporters.
The stronger baht was impacting exporters when converting profits back to baht, she said, adding that it would also hit tourism spending.
Exports in August rose 11.4 percent from a year earlier while imports were up 8.5 percent, resulting in trade account surplus of $2.4 billion, the BOT said.
The current account surplus was $1.4 billion in August, up from a revised $0.1 billion surplus in July, due to accelerated exports of agriculture products to trading partners who faced shortages, the BOT said.
The economy grew at a faster pace of 2.3 percent in the April-June quarter on the year, but analysts said fiscal policy uncertainty clouded the outlook.
The BOT has forecast economic growth of 2.6 percent for 2024, after last year’s 1.9 percent expansion, which lagged regional peers.