Thailand’s economy has grown for a second straight quarter, boosted by a strong recovery in the country’s manufacturing sector. South-east Asia’s second largest economy grew by 1.3% between July and September from the previous quarter, official figures showed.
However, the rate of growth was less than economists had predicted.
Thailand’s economy was hit hard by the global downturn as well as by political unrest at the end of 2008.
Manufacturing grew by 2.6% in the quarter, the figures from the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) showed.
via BBC News – Thailand economy boosted by manufacturing.
The services sector grew 1.5 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter while manufacturing expanded 2.6 percent, according to the figures released by the National Economic & Social Development Board. Agriculture shrank 3.9 percent due to lower prices and a fall in production of major crops like paddy rice.
The economy remained smaller than a year earlier in the third quarter with gross domestic product down 2.8 percent.
Still, that was an improvement from year-on-year falls of 4.9 percent in the second quarter and 7.1 percent in the first quarter.
The state economic agency expects Thailand’s GDP to shrink about 3 percent this year compared with 2008.
