Thai exports miss forecast in September, seen rising in Q4

THAILAND’S exports rose for a third straight month in September but less than expected, data showed on Monday (Oct 28), and the commerce ministry said shipments would continue to increase in the final quarter of the year.

The ministry is targeting export growth of 2 per cent this year, with the value expected at a record high of US$290 billion, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference.

Exports, a key driver of South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, rose 1.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 2.85 per cent increase in a Reuters poll.

Imports increased 9.9 per cent in September from a year earlier, higher than a forecast increase of 6.0 per cent in the poll.

That led to a trade surplus of US$0.4 billion in September, smaller than the forecast of a US$1.5 billion surplus.

In the first nine months of 2024, exports rose 3.9 per cent from the same period in 2023, while imports were up 5.5 per cent, resulting in a trade deficit of about US$6 billion for the period. REUTERS