Centre Director Thanawat Ponwichai noted that the overall consumer confidence index remains below 100, which he attributed to concerns over political instability after the chaos which disrupted last week’s deliberation of reconciliation bills in the lower house of Parliament and protests outside the Parliament building.
The subsidiary index of opinions on the political situation in May fell to 66.3, the lowest in the past 11 months, while the index of prospects for the political situation in the next three months dropped to 76.6, the lowest in 12 months.
Other worries, Dr Thanawat said, are the debt crisis in the Eurozone and its possible knock-on effects in Thailand, as well as the high cost of living.
The US has been also impacted by the Eurozone crisis, the director noted.
However, he said that depreciation of Thai baht may help support Thai exports, and suggested that the government should focus on key Asian markets such as China and the ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, Thai tourism, projected to generate income of B650 billion this year, will help boost the economy.
The Centre forecast that public consumption is likely to remain sluggish in the second quarter. but is likely to recover in the third quarter, he said