Thailand's GDP growth in 2018 likely to hit six-year high

BANGKOK, July 5 (TNA) - The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, under Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, has projected that Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year should hit its six-year high, standing at 4.5-5 per cent year-on-year. The center's director, Thanawat Phonvichai, announced the latest projection on Thursday, noting that his center's updated forecast figure of Thailand's GDP growth in 2018 at 4.5-5 per cent year-on-year, from its earlier forecast of 4-4.5 per cent year-on-year, should be the highest since 2012 when the national economy expanded by as high as 7.2 per cent year-on-year. Thanawat told journalists that his center plans to officially release a new report on the country's upward-revised GDP growth projection later this month, after completing its assessment of impacts on the Thai economy from the ongoing trade war between the United States and major trading partners, particularly China. Thanawat said, however, that his center has seen no serious negative impact on Thailand's GDP and exports this year from the ongoing trade war. According to the senior economist, his center's new report would also include its upward projection of Thailand's export growth this year to reaching 8-10 per cent year-on-year, from its earlier forecast of 6-8 per cent year-on-year, while the Thai currency is likely to hover around 32-33 baht a US dollar, the inflation to remain low and the central bank's key interest rate to be kept unchanged over the next six months. The senior economist acknowledged, meanwhile, that Thailand's latest consumer confidence index (CCI) last month also increased to the 67.9 level, from 66.9 a month earlier, boosted by rising income and purchasing power of at least five million households of local farmers due to improving prices of rice, maize and tapioca. The senior economist also assessed that the expanding domestic tourism and the Thai government's accelerating spending on public investment projects should also contribute to the country's higher GDP growth rate in 2018. (TNA)