BANGKOK (Xinhua) — The Thai central bank on Monday released a report indicating that exports fell 5.6 percent in October from a year earlier after September’s 4.2 percent drop.
Thailand recorded a current account surplus of 0.99 billion U.S. dollars in October after a surplus of 1.31 billion U.S. dollars the previous month, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) said in a Monday press conference.
The BoT added that October’s imports declined 12.1 percent from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus of 3.17 billion U.S. dollars in the month.
In this October, Thailand’s economy contracted at a higher rate compared to the previous month due mainly to the fading of temporary factors and last year’s high base effect, explained Chayawadee Chai-Anant, senior director at BoT’s Economic and Policy Department.
She further added that private consumption indicators contracted after experiencing a marginal expansion in September, as the temporary factor of special long holidays came to an end.
In regards to the tourism sector, severe contraction continued due to travel restrictions on foreign arrivals, Chayawadee said.
The number of tourist arrivals contracted 100 percent year on year as travel restrictions remained in place. Although the government began to allow foreigners holding the Special Tourists Visa (STV) to visit Thailand, the number of foreign arrivals was still small, Chayawadee said.
However the BoT said that overall private consumption continued on a recovery path, consistent with a gradual improvement of factors supporting consumer purchasing power including employment, farming and non-farming income as well as consumer confidence, together with new economic stimulus packages launched by the government.
