Thai economy in 2nd half of 2012 mainly boosted by domestic consumption, investment

BANGKOK, August 1 (TNA) - The Kasikorn Research Center (KRC) says that domestic consumption and investment will continue to be major propellers of the Thai economy in the second half of this year. The Bangkok-based research firm reported on Wednesday that domestic investment in the private sector surged by 18.3 and consumption expanded by 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year, in the wake of the country's flooding crisis late last year, although the local export and industrial manufacturing sectors shrank by 0.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively. Boosted by the domestic investment and consumption, according to the leading private think tank, the Thai economy in the second quarter of this year improved from the first quarter. The KRC warned, however, that the Thai economy will likely to continue suffering from some negative impacts of the ongoing European economic crisis in the second half of this year and it will then have to continue relying mostly on domestic investment and consumption in the last six months of 2012. The KRC estimated that Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) should expand by 2.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year and by 4.5-5.5 on average this year. Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary of the Commerce Ministry Yanyong Puangraj said that Thailand's consumer price index or CPI in July this year stood at 115.82, a 2.73 year-on-year increase showing low inflation and stable national economy, thanks to a significant drop in world oil and product prices, projecting that the country's inflation will hover around 3.1-3.2 per cent in the last quarter of this year and around 3.3-3.8 per cent throughout 2012. (TNA)