Thailand's CCI rises for 2nd consecutive month

BANGKOK, February 6 (TNA) - Thailand's consumer confidence index (CCI) rose in all categories for the second consecutive month in January 2012, as the national situation has been returning to normal in the wake of a massive flooding late last year. Yanyong Puangraj, Permanent Secretary for Commerce, said Monday that a recent survey on 3,024 people showed the across-the-board increase in the Thai CCI for the second consecutive month last month, to 24.2 from 21.2 in December 2011, noting that the increase covered consumers’ confidence in both present and future situations, as well as in their future revenues as the country's situation has begun to be back on its normal track after the flooding crisis late last year. Yanyong also attributed the improved Thai CCI to the government's policy on raising salaries of government officials and extending compensation for flood victims and even people's spending during the recent Chinese New Year festival. However, the senior Thai Commerce Ministry official acknowledged that the country's CCI remained below 50, indicating that people's concerns over the national economy remained, especially impacts from rising fuel prices and their costs of living, as well as the fluctuation of the world economy. The survey found that people wanted the Thai government to keep their costs of living, as well as the prices of consumer products, oil and energy affordable to them, to solve problems related to unemployment and minimum wages, to restore international investors’ confidence in the Thai economy, to address repeated floods, to speed up flood rehabilitation and, importantly, to suppress corruption and narcotics. (TNA)