GDP likely to be down 3.5% this year

Thailand's gross domestic product would likely show a contraction of 3.5 per cent for this year, the Office of Industrial Economics said on Wednesday.

 Director-general Sutthinee Pupaka said  the industrial sector was expected to shrink 5.9 per cent this year.

The recovering global economy and the government's economic stimulus measures had enabled the manufacturing production index (MPI) and the production rate to increase continuously, Mrs Suthinee said.

The MPI turned positive for the first time in 11 months after it rose one per cent in September.

She said there were also positive signals from the textile, automotive electronics industries, she said.

The risk factors were the consistency of global economic recovery, rising fuel prices and domestic political stability, she said.