Thai factory output up 1.88% y/y in May on higher car output, exports

[BANGKOK] Thailand’s manufacturing production index rose 1.88 per cent in May from a year earlier, the industry ministry said on Monday, slightly higher than analysts’ forecasts after increases in car production and exports.

The figure compared with a forecast year-on-year rise of 1.80 per cent for May in a Reuters poll. April’s increase was adjusted to 1.91 per cent from a preliminary figure of 2.17 per cent.

Uncertainties over US trade policy and high domestic household debt remain a concern, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry has forecast output growth of zero to 1 per cent for the whole year.

Thailand faces US tariffs of 36 per cent on its exports if it fails to negotiate a reduction before a moratorium expires on July 9.

Thai Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Monday he would travel to the United States later in the day for trade talks to be held over the next two days.

Commerce ministry data showed that exports, a key driver of growth, jumped 18.4 per cent in May from a year earlier as shipments to the United States surged ahead of the end of the tariff pause.

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Car production in Thailand, a regional automaking centre, rose 10.32 per cent in May from a year earlier, the first annual rise in 22 months, according to the Federation of Thai Industries. REUTERS