Business sentiment reached a 24-month high in March because of strong confidence in the manufacturing sector following a recovery in exports, reported the central bank's business sentiment index (BSI).
The Bank of Thailand released its BSI for March, which rose to 52.6 from 49.8 in February, a new 24-month high.
The seasonal adjustment of the March index was 51.0, still above the 50-point threshold that separates pessimism from optimism.
"The higher index was the result of improved confidence in the manufacturing sector, particularly exporters in the paper and printing, machinery production and automobile sectors," said the report.
It said this was in line with growth in merchandise exports coupled with the temporary acceleration in production ahead of the long Songkran holiday, resulting in stronger confidence from respondents in production, performance and employment sub-indices.
A recovery in Thai merchandise exports took place in the third quarter last year, with 0.4% growth on a balance-of-payments basis, with 3.6% growth in the fourth quarter.
The central bank recently raised its forecast for export growth to 2.2% this year from zero predicted in December, with 2% growth seen for next year.
The business sentiment recovery in March came after two consecutive months of decline because of weak confidence in the non-manufacturing sector after the government's tax deduction measures ended late last year.