Some signs of recovery in December
Private investment showed signs of recovery in December, with the narrow month-on-month contraction, according to the Bank of Thailand.
The Private Investment Index (PII) contracted 2.3 per cent month-on-month in December, compared to November's 6.8-per-cent contraction.
While exports in December continued to drop in value by 2.1 per cent year-on-year, the Private Consumption Index (PCI) improved by 1.7 per cent month-on-month in December.
Due to the floods in the fourth quarter and the tsunami in Japan that severely disrupted the manufacturign sector, Thailand witnessed a sharp economic slowdown in 2011.
Constraints in the manufacturing sector and transportation network eventually caused deterioration in exports, private consumption and investment in the last quarter of 2011, said Mathee Supapongse, BOT senior director.
Thai exports grew 16.4 per cent in 2011, compared to 28.4 per cent expansion in 2010.
