December private consumption down, investment up m-o-m: BoT

Private consumption contracted in December from the previous month while investment rose slightly, central bank indexes showed on Wednesday, suggesting that a recovery in the economy is still patchy.

The Bank of Thailand's (BoT) private consumption index for December fell 0.4% from November, when it rose 0.2%. 

The index for private investment rose 0.2% in December from the previous month, when it rose 0.4%. 

The BoT said there was a current account surplus of 121 billion baht in December, after a 166 billion baht surplus in November. 

Exports, based on financial settlements, rose 9.3% in December from a year earlier after November's 12.3% rise. 

BoT senior director Don Nakornthab said the economy might have expanded 4% in 2017, with annual growth in the final quarter likely close to the third quarter's 4.3% pace. 

Official 2017 GDP data is due on Feb 19. 

Growth in 2016 was 3.2%. For this year, the BoT has forecast a 3.9% expansion.