BANGKOK- Thailand’s economy is expected to expand faster in the second quarter as growth quickened in April due to stronger tourism, domestic demand and exports, the central bank said on Friday.
Economic activity in May remained supported by tourism, while a recovery in exports and industrial manufacturing as well as government spending would need monitoring, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said.
Growth in the April-June quarter should be higher than the first quarter’s 1.5 percent , which beat the BOT’s forecast, senior director SakkapopPanyanukul told a press conference.
“But we have to wait and see developments in Q2 as it’s turning point to see if numbers will be clearly positive and sustainable,” he added.
In April, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy recorded a current account deficit of $0.04 billion, after a surplus of $1.1 billion in the previous month, the BOT said.
April exports rose 5.8 percent year-on-year, while private consumption and investment increased from the previous month, it said.
