Manufacturing index down on stronger baht
Play
Thailand's Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) was down to the 10-month low in February, mainly because of the baht appreciation which led to slowing orders.
The Industrial Economics Department's data showed that the index went down to 169.96, 1.2 per cent down from the same period last year. In the month, capacity utilisation was at 62.87 per cent.
The department said that the export sector, which accounts for 60 per cent of the country's manufacturing sector, suffered from weak demand as well as baht appreciation.
Since the beginning of this year, Thai baht has risen 3.78 per cent against US dollar from the end of last year.
Still, the index in the first two months of this year managed to show a 4.3 per cent growth rate from the same period last year.
