Thailand’s cost of living to rise in Q2: Survey

BANGKOK, March 17 (TNA) - Higher production costs plus the government-sponsored rise in the daily minimum wage to 300 baht which has been enforced since January 1 and possible severe drought during the current summer are expected to push up cost of living in Thailand in the second quarter this year, according to a survey jointly conducted by Krung Thep Thurakij daily newspaper and the Dhurakij Bandit University. The survey on 402 senior executives and conducted between February 25-March 8 found that people would become more careful in spending as production costs jumped, making overall businesses in the country to encounter difficult time again. Most CEOs said in the survey they believed Thailand’s economy would continue to slow down with the signs of economic condition index slip to 13 and 5 points in March and April respectively. Their concerns are mainly on higher production costs resulted from rising oil prices, the increase in the daily minimum wage and the ongoing strengthening of the Thai baht against the greenback which is already affecting the country’s exports. Up to 68.4 per cent of the total CEOs queried in the survey said they have no choice but to increase prices of their products if oil prices continue rising in the country. (TNA)