Finance Ministry Says Economic Situation Last Month Performed Well

[Jai Dee]

Finance Ministry says economic situation last month performed well

The Ministry of Finance indicated that the economic situation of Thailand in the month of May 2006 was performing better than expected, thanks to the help from the export sector.

Mr. Somchai Satjapong, the Fiscal Policy Office Deputy Director-General, stated that in the big picture, Thailand’s financial economy in May had been supported by the global economy, which continued to expand significantly. The growth rate was 18.8 percent, with a value of 10.8 billion US dollars. The value of import in the previous month increased slightly by 6.4 percent, and as a result, the trade deficit was approximately 646 million US dollars. The accumulated trade deficit is now at 1.602 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, the investment of the private sector has a tendency to improve slightly this month in comparison to last month.

Mr. Somchai said the economic stability of Thailand and the world is considered to be decent at this period. The public debt decreased from 46.4 percent to 41.4 percent from the GDP in April. The interest rate has generally risen to 6.2 percent per year, which is due to the current oil price hike. He expects that the interest rate is likely to decrease in the second half of this year.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 29 June 2006