BANGKOK : Thailand’s manufacturing production index dropped 1.71 per cent in June from a year earlier due mainly to lower car production and higher energy costs, the industry ministry said on Wednesday, missing analysts’ expectations.
The figure compared with a forecast year-on-year fall of 1.5 per cent for June in a Reuters poll and followed an annual drop of 1.54 per cent in May.
Car production in Thailand, a regional auto making hub, dropped for the 11th straight month in June due to weaker purchasing as banks tightened lending, while energy costs increased, the industry ministry said.
The Federation of Thai Industries last week said autos output was down 20 per cent in June from a year earlier.
However, tourism continued to support related industries such as food and beverage while exports of industrial goods still expanded, the ministry said.
Foreign visitors to Thailand so far this year have reached 20.3 million, up 34 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to the tourism ministry.
Factory output for the January-June period fell 2.01 per cent from a year earlier. The ministry earlier said it expected output to rise between 0 per cent and 1 per cent in 2024.
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