Thailand: Domestic demand not strong enough
Thailand’s economy saw an increase in external demand but domestic demand was not “sufficiently strong”, according to a minutes of the Bank of Thailand (BoT)’s latest policy meeting.
A river in Thailand. Illustrative photo (Photo: The Straits Times)Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s economy saw an increase in external demand but domestic demand was not “sufficiently strong”, according to a minutes of the Bank of Thailand (BoT)’s latest policy meeting.
The minutes show that some members of the country’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) felt economic growth was still “at the initial stage” and facing structural changes, the minutes said.
Household debt remained an issue, particularly for low-income earners while expansion in private consumption needs to be closely monitored after the Thai government’s 2018 supplementary budget is spent.
The MPC viewed that it is still necessary to adopt an accommodative monetary policy stance to foster stronger domestic demand. Public investment would remain a key growth driver and was expected to resume growth, the minutes added.
The BoT forecast that Thailand’s economy will grow by 3.9 percent this year, as much as in 2017. It will review the projection during the next policy meeting on March 28.
Most economists expect no policy change for the rest of 2018 while some predict interest rate hikes in the second half of the year.-VNA
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