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Thai Oct factory output falls 0.54%, less than forecast

  • Nov 27, 2020

[BANGKOK] Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) dropped a smaller-than-expected 0.54 per cent in October from a year earlier, with lower production of cars and clothes amid the coronavirus pandemic, the industry ministry said on Friday.

That compares with a forecast for a decline of 1.80 per cent in a Reuters poll, and against September’s revised fall of 2.15 per cent.

Capacity utilisation in October was 63.2 per cent after September’s revised 63.46 per cent.

The ministry also forecast the MPI index would fall 8 per cent this year, having projected a 8-9 per cent drop. It expects the index to rise 4.0-5.0 per cent next year. Industrial goods account for about 80 per cent of total exports, a key driver of Thai growth.

REUTERS