Monday, 18 May 2020 11:44 AM MYT
The state planning agency, reporting January-March data today, slashed its forecast for 2020 gross domestic product to a contraction of 5.0-6.0 per cent from growth of 1.5 per cent-2.5 per cent projected in February.The economy shrank 1.8 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the deepest contraction since the fourth quarter of 2011, when there was bad flooding.
The impact of lockdowns, while having eased somewhat, will continue to affect household spending and private investment for the rest of the year, he added. “There should be a U-shaped recovery,” he said, adding foreign tourists may be allowed to return in the third or fourth quarter. The agency cut its projection for this year’s exports and foreign tourist numbers, the main drivers of Thai growth.
Most economists expect the central bank to cut its key interest rate further from a record low of 0.75 per cent this week.
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