NESDB cuts GDP growth forecast to 3-4% after slow fourth quarter
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The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has cut its forecast for this year's economic growth to 3-4 per cent after the fourth quarter of 2013 saw gross domestic product expand by a mere 0.6 per cent year on year.
That quarter was when the political protests in Bangkok started, and they have continued unabated.
The NESDB’s earlier estimate for 2014 GDP growth was 4-5 per cent.
The economy grew by 2.9 per cent for the whole of 2013, the NESDB said in a statement Monday. Exports contracted 0.2 per cent and imports shrank 0.4 per cent, the agency said.
Gundy Cahyadi, an economist for DBS Group Research, noted that the economy expanded below the house’s expectations last quarter. While private investment fell 13.1 per cent on year and private consumption was down 4.5 per cent year on year, a boost from exports appeared to be the only positive factor.
The Nation
