BOT revises Thailand’s GDP for 2014 to 3%

BANGKOK, February 7 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has revised its projection of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2014 to 3 per cent, from 4 per cent forecast earlier, citing signs of a slowdown in the Thai economy in the first half of this year. BOT Spokeswoman Rung Mullikamas reported the revised figure on Friday, saying that the decision was made by the BOT's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Rung told journalists that there are signs of high defaults in the banking sector, while households become more cautious in spending and commercial banks become more prudent in approving loans. According to the spokeswoman, the central bank also forecast that Thailand's inflation this year should remain low at about 2–3 per cent, while there have been no irregularities affecting the value of the Thai baht, as well as capital inflows or outflows after the February 2 general election.(TNA)