The consumer confidence index for the overall economy went down from 68.4 reported in August to 67.5 in September, the Economic and Business Forecasting Centre at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce reported.
Thanavath Phonvichai, the centre's director, said on Wednesday that confidence in job opportunity dropped to 68.9 points from 69.6 and confidence in future income fell to 94.8 points from 95.8.
An index below 100 points indicates consumers are still worried.
Mr Thanawat said the negative factors that hurt consumer confidence included people’s concern over possible flooding and on political uncertainty after the recent violent clash between red-shirts and yellow-shirts in front of the Crime Suppression Division.
The Ministry of Finance’s slashing of its growth forecast for 2012 from 5.7% to 5.5%, the export contraction figure in August, global oil prices, the high cost of living, global economic recession and the continued unrest in the far South, were also reasons behind the decline in consumer confidence, he added.
The positive factors were the central bank’s monetary policy panel keeping the key policy rate unchanged at 3%, the continuing government stimulus measures, the decline in the diesel price and the rise in the Stock Exchange of Thailand main index in September, said Mr Thanawat.