Thai finance ministry cuts 2026 growth forecast to 1.6% due to Middle East war

[BANGKOK] Thailand’s finance ministry cut its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.6 per cent from 2 per cent due to the impact of the war in the Middle East, although it said on Tuesday that government measures would lend some support.

Exports, a key driver of Thai growth, are now expected to rise 6.2 per cent this year, compared with a 1 per cent rise projected in January, Vinit Visessuvanapoom, head of the finance ministry’s fiscal policy office, told a press briefing.

South-east Asia’s second-largest economy expanded 2.4 per cent last year, lagging regional peers.

Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to be 33.5 million this year, down from a previous forecast of 35.5 million. Thailand received a record of nearly 40 million tourists in 2019, before the pandemic.

The ministry said it expected headline inflation of 3 per cent this year, compared with a previous forecast of 0.3 per cent. The central bank’s target range is between 1 per cent and 3 per cent. REUTERS