Yearly GDP forecast adjusted down to 3.3-3.8% by NESDC
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) adjusted down their GDP forecast for 2019 from 4 per cent to a range of 3.3-3.8 per cent in their quarterly economic report on Tuesday morning.
After a sluggish performance in the first quarter of the year, where the economy saw a mere 2.8 per cent GDP growth, the country’s top economic research body has cited the US-China trade war escalation as the key reason for the downward adjustment from their previous forecast in February.
Export growth for 2019 is now pegged at only 2.2 per cent, compared to last year’s 6.7 per cent growth. The first three months of this year saw a 3.6 per cent year-on-year contraction in Thailand’s shipments abroad.
Meanwhile, public investment contracted by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, and the NESDC has adjusted down its public investment growth forecast from 6.2 to 4.5 per cent growth, citing the likely delays in next year’s government budget as a key factor.
