BANGKOK, Jun 5 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s business sentiment fell slightly in May, as concerns over global trade tensions weakened confidence, in export-oriented manufacturing sectors, the central bank said, yesterday.
The country’s business sentiment index (BSI) was recorded at 46.7 last month, dipping from 47.1 in April, as most components of the index, particularly performance, production, and total order books, declined.
The manufacturing index dropped modestly, led by the electric appliance and food industries, partly due to postponed orders from trading partners, as the central bank reassessed the clearer impacts of U.S. tariff measures, according to a statement.
Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing index remained stable overall, weighed down by a third consecutive month of deteriorating confidence in the hotel and restaurant sectors, which reached its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began, due to a sharp decline in the number of inbound tourists.
Despite that, confidence in the real estate sector improved marginally, as a result of relaxed loan-to-value regulations, and lower property registration and transfer fees.
The three-month expected BSI improved to 49.4 in May, from 48.9 a month earlier, mainly driven by the non-manufacturing index, especially in the hotel and restaurant and passenger transportation sectors, where sentiment was expected to benefit from a domestic tourism stimulus programme.
The reading was based on a survey of 717 respondents from large- and medium-sized firms.– NNN-TNA
