Consumer confidence edged up in March, buoyed by growing exports and strong tourism, after dropping the previous month.
The latest survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) said March's consumer confidence index stood at 79.9, up from 79.3 in February.
February marked the first decline in seven months as people fretted about low commodity prices, the strengthening baht and political uncertainty.
"Consumers were more confident about buying durable goods such as houses and cars last month after witnessing robust exports and booming tourism," said Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the UTCC. "We expect that spending might increase in the second half if the political and economic situations improve."
The Commerce Ministry reported on March 21 that customs-cleared exports climbed for the 12th straight month in February, driven largely by the economic recovery and rising demand from key trading partners.
Surging exports were led by cars and auto parts, computers and components, rubber products, plastic pellets, gems and jewellery, chemicals, finished oil, machinery and parts, and electrical circuits.
Exports rose to all major destination markets, especially Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, to which shipments jumped 89% year-on-year last month.
Also seeing strong growth were exports to India (up 42.9%), Japan (41.1%), South Asia (29.4%) and Australia (18.2%).
Shipments to the US, the EU, the Middle East and Asean also grew.
Exports of agricultural and agro-industrial products rose for the 16th straight month in February, up 0.3% year-on-year at $3.14 billion. They were led by rice, frozen and canned poultry, tapioca products, and palm oil.
Industrial product shipments saw double-digit growth for the seventh month, up 11.5% in February at $16.5 billion, thanks to strong exports of automobiles and parts, computers and components, machinery and components, and finished oil.
But the strong baht put a dent in Thai shipments, as exports in baht terms contracted for the first time in 12 months.
Foreign arrivals to Thailand jumped 19.3% year-on-year in February (led by Chinese, Russians and South Koreans) to 3.5 million, generating 190 billion baht for the country.
Nonetheless, Mr Thanavath said people were still worried about the looming trade war and relatively low farm prices, as well as the impact of the imminent minimum wage hike, which could drive up goods prices.
The domestic political situation is another area of concern after the government decided yet again to postpone the highly anticipated general election from later this year to next February.
Meanwhile, consumer purchasing power in the provinces remains relatively low.
More importantly, Mr Thanavath said, most consumers still feel that economic growth is limited and not broad-based.