Industrial output rose for a second straight month in April but the recovery remains fragile with both exports and domestic consumption weak.
The Industry Ministry said on Tuesday its manufacturing production index (MPI) for April increased 1.54% from a year earlier. A Reuters poll forecast a rise of 0.8%. In March, output rose a revised 2.2% from a year earlier, its first annual gain in three months.
Industrial goods accounted for nearly 79% of total exports in April, which contracted 8% from a year earlier, customs data showed.
April's output rise was led by cars and car parts, air conditioners and petroleum. Capacity utilisation was at 58.43% in April, down from March's revised 72.79%. Exports have shrunk over the past three years.
The Bank of Thailand projects shipments will fall 2% this year and the economy will grow 3.1%.