Car Sales
The administration has tried to speed up its budget disbursements as 2 trillion baht ($64 billion) allocated for infrastructure spending and 350 billion baht for water-management projects have been put on hold.
Toyota Motor Corp. said last month industrywide car sales in Thailand will fall 9.5 percent this year. Total bank loans grew 12.8 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, compared with 13.2 percent in the previous three months, central bank data showed earlier.
Private consumption grew 2.4 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, slowing from a 4.4 percent pace in the previous period, today’s data showed. Government consumption rose 5.8 percent from 4.4 percent in the previous three months.
“We still have a chance to grow at the high end of the range if we can speed up budget disbursements and try to boost exports,” Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, secretary-general of the state planning agency, told a news conference today. “Economic growth in the second half will rely more on private investment and tourism, as growth in exports and household spending are still limited. Still, those factors are sensitive to the political situation, making it a key risk for economic growth.”
While the delayed public spending and last year’s high base following the slowdown after the 2011 floods are a challenge, lower inflationary pressure “allows monetary policy to be accommodative,” Arkhom said. Consumer prices rose 2 percent in July from a year earlier, compared to 2.25 percent in June.