Thailand's economy continued to grow in the first quarter, although the rate of expansion has slowed slightly compared to the fourth quarter, as reported by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council on Monday.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 1.5 percent year-on-year, following a 1.7 percent rise in the previous quarter. Predictions had forecasted a more modest growth rate of 0.8 percent.
The overall growth was largely fueled by the non-agricultural sector, especially tourism-related services. In contrast, the agricultural and industrial sectors experienced contractions.
A breakdown of expenditures revealed that household consumption increased by 6.9 percent from the prior year, though this was a deceleration from the 7.4 percent growth observed in the last three-month period.
Conversely, government consumption and gross fixed capital formation decreased by 2.1 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, during the first quarter. Export growth slowed to 2.5 percent, while imports surged with a 5.3 percent increase.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, GDP rebounded strongly by 1.1 percent in the March quarter, compared to a 0.4 percent decline in the final quarter of 2023.
