BANGKOK: Thailand’s industrial output dropped more sharply than expected in August, declining for a sixth straight month, but there are signs of a tentative recovery in the country’s auto sector.
An official plan to rebase the output figures will also put a floor under the weak data, with output for the full year expected to be positive.
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South-East Asia’s second-largest economy has consistently missed government forecasts for growth since the junta seized power in May 2014, with exports and domestic demand persistently sluggish.
The Industry Ministry said its manufacturing production index (MPI) in August fell 8.3% from a year earlier after July’s revised 6.3% decline, and compared with a 6.3% drop seen in a Reuters poll.
The weakness was led by lower output of hard drives, television sets and electronics, but auto production jumped 13% in August from a year earlier, the ministry said.
Production of electrical appliances and electronics tumbled 25%, with TV sets down 74%.
