A large trade surplus, the return of service account and foreign investment income, and net transfers drove the current account surplus to US$8.23 billion (266 billion baht) in the January-to-March quarter, said Bank of Thailand spokeswoman Roong Mallikamas.
The considerable first-quarter trade surplus could also reflect a sharp contraction in imports as exports fell at a lower pace.
Previously, Bank of Thailand economic policy director Don Nakornthab said the current account surplus indicated weakening economic activity as imports of capital goods, raw materials and intermediate goods dipped.
A current account surplus means
that a country is a net lender to the rest of the world and that the nation’s net assets have increased by the amount of the surplus.
Thailand’s current account balance showed a deficit for the second straight year in 2013 at $2.8 billion, widening from $1.5 billion the previous year.
Import growth in 2014’s first quarter sank by 14.8% year-on-year, compared with a 7.6% shrinkage in last year’s final
quarter.
Merchandise exports — down by 0.8% sequentially in the first quarter, bettering a 1% contraction in the previous quarter — were restrained by temporary plant shutdowns for maintenance and a retreat in global commodity prices.
Declining imports of both capital goods and gold bullion were the main causes of import contraction in the first three months, Mrs Roong said.
The substantial reduction in capital goods imports was in line with a slackening of private investment as new projects were delayed, while most private investment focused on machinery repair.
Gold bullion imports dropped sharply in the first quarter compared with last year’s historic figure of $11.6 billion in the first half, when the economy was healthier and gold savings more robust.
A resumption of the service account surplus was another factor contributing to the current account surplus, spurred by the recent reduction of foreign investor remittances of profit and dividends — a reflection of weakening Thai economic conditions in the second half of 2013.
The central bank had expected a current account surplus of $0.7 billion this year, but Mrs Roong said the figure may grow larger if the first-quarter trend holds.