BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s economy slowed down in March compared with the previous month, as exports declined but the service sector continued to improve, driven by higher foreign tourist numbers, the central bank said on Friday.
Economic activity is expected to have improved in April and exports should gradually get better along with a recovery in the economies of trading partners, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said in a statement.
In the first quarter, the economy continued to improve from the previous period, mainly due to the tourism sector which bolstered services and private consumption, the BOT said.
Last month, the BOT trimmed its projections for economic growth to 3.6% this year and 3.8% next year, down from earlier forecasts of 3.7% and 3.9%, respectively.
But it raised its forecasts for foreign tourist arrivals to 28 million this year and 35 million next year, up from 25.5 million and 34 million, respectively. That compared with a record of nearly 40 million visitors in pre-pandemic 2019.
Thailand recorded a current account surplus of $4.8 billion in March, after a surplus of $1.3 billion in the previous month.
Exports, a key driver of growth, dropped 5.8% year-on-year in March.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon; Editing by Martin Petty)
