ONESDB:Thai economy is likely to grow by 3-4% in 2014

BANGKOK, February 17 (TNA) - The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (ONESDB) has predicted that the Thai economy should grow by 3-4 per cent this year, boosted by the recovering world economy and rising Thai exports. The ONESDB assessed on Monday that, cushioned by the rebounding global economy, Thai exports should expand by 3.6 per cent in 2014, while Thai tourism should grow continually. According to the ONESDB, the Thai economy grew by 2.9 per cent on average last year, as it expanded by only 0.6 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, compared with its 2.7 year-on-year growth in the third quarter, although the country's unemployment rate stood low at 0.7 per cent and inflation at 1.7 per cent. The ONESDB acknowledged that the slowdown in the Thai economy resulted from a drop in domestic demand, as household spending declined by 4.5 per cent in the last quarter of last year, overall investment fell by 11.3 per cent and the government's spending rose by only 0.9 per cent. The ONESDB noted the value of Thai exports amounted to 55.88 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter of last year, a drop by 1 per cent due to a slowdown of the world conomy, while the value of Thai imports stood at 52.04 billion US dollars, a drop by 7.6 per cent. Throughout last year, the ONESDB reported, the value of Thai exports stood at 225.40 billion US dollars, a drop by 0.2 per cent, while inflation ran at 2.2 per cent and the current account deficit stood at 0.6 per cent.(TNA)