Thailand has experienced continued economic slowdown with no sign of recovery in sight, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Kullaya Tantitemit, Executive Director of the ministry's Macroeconomic Policy Bureau, said that in September, the Thai economy was further sluggish in many key sectors. Consumption and export growth further slowed down when compared to August.

The only sector experiencing expansion in September was tourism which has become the pillar of growth for the Thai economy.

Consumption in the private sector has fallen further. Value added tax collected by the Finance Ministry decreased by 19.4 percent while the car sale dropped 30.7 percent in September. Exports also recorded a negative growth of 7.1 percent.

Kullaya said in December the ministry will adjust its economic growth forecast for 2013 again because of the further sign of sluggishness. The ministry has forecast the country’s economic growth at 3.7 percent this year.-VNA/NNT