Thailand manufacturing activity rises for second straight month in September

Manufacturing activity rose for the second straight month during the period of September, supported by gains in air conditioners, jewellery and home appliances, but the gain was much smaller than in August, suggesting a recovery remains fragile.

Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) in September was up 0.6 percent from a year earlier. A Reuters poll had forecast a fall of 0.3 percent, data released by the Ministry of Industry showed Monday. In August, output rose a revised 3.18 percent from a year earlier, rather than the 3.13 percent increase reported earlier which was the highest growth in 40 months.     

Industrial goods accounted for 81 percent of total exports in September, which unexpectedly rose 3.4 from a year earlier, earlier customs data showed. Shipments are worth about two-thirds of the economy. Further, capacity utilisation rose to 65.23 percent in September from  August's revised 64.42 percent.   

During the first nine months of 2016, Thailand's industrial production activity edged up 0.06 percent though it was down 0.5 percent for the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand has forecast the economy will grow 3.2 percent this year, up from 2.8 percent last year.