Thai Dec factory output rises 2.35% y-o-y, below forecast

[BANGKOK] Thailand's annual industrial output rose for a second straight month in December, helped by higher production of rubber, cars and car engines and petroleum, but missed expectations.

The manufacturing production index (MPI) in December rose 2.35 per cent from a year earlier after a revised 4.14 per cent increase in November, the Industry Ministry said on Wednesday.

The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a 3.50 per cent rise.

The index was up 1.58 per cent in 2017, and the ministry has forecast the index to rise 2 per cent this year.

Capacity utilisation at factories dropped to 59.53 per cent in December from November's revised 63.18 per cent.

Industrial goods account for 80 per cent of total exports, which in turn make up about two-thirds of the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia.

The finance ministry expects the economy to grow 4.2 per cent this year after a 4 per cent growth estimated for 2017. Official 2017 GDP data is due on Feb 19.

REUTERS