BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) in February dropped by 2.71% from a year earlier, as slowing global demand hurt exports, the industry ministry said on Wednesday.
The figure compared with a forecast for a fall of 2.8% in factory output for February in a Reuters poll, and came after January’s revised 4.81% year-on-year decrease.
Output March is expected to be steady or down slightly due to a global slowdown, the ministry said in a statement.
However, domestic demand improved on the back of a rebound in the vital tourism sector, which would underpin manufacturing production, the ministry said.
Industrial goods account for about 80% of total exports, which in January contracted 4.5% from a year earlier, commerce ministry data showed. The commerce ministry is due to release February trade data on Thursday.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Ed Davies)
