Press Release on the Economic and Monetary Conditions for March and Q1/2025
BOT Press Release No. 17/2025 | 30 Apr 2025
- The Thai economic activities slowed down in the service sector, private consumption and private investment, while manufacturing production improved.
- The tourism sector slowed down mainly due to a decline in the number of Muslim tourists since the Ramadan period started earlier this year, while Chinese tourists continued to decline but at a slower pace.
- Production and exports of electronic products improved, following the recovery of the electronics cycle and an acceleration in exports before the announcement of U.S. import tariff.
- The overall labor market slightly improved as the ratios of total and new unemployment claims to total insured persons declined. However, the impact of U.S. trade policies and the tourism slowdown on the labor market warrants a close monitoring.
The Thai economic activities softened from the previous month, due to lower in the tourism-related activities, following a lower number of foreign tourists. Private consumption slowed down, particularly in services and non-durable goods, while exports declined mainly in precious metal but overall remained high due to accelerated exports to the U.S. Private investment also declined mainly from lower investment in machinery and equipment. However, manufacturing production increased in automotive and hard disk drive categories. Government spending continued to expand from both current and capital expenditures.
On the economic stability front, headline inflation decreased compared to the previous month mainly from lower energy inflation. This was driven by falling retail gasoline prices in line with the global oil prices as well as lower electricity prices due to government subsidies on vulnerable groups. Core inflation also decreased, following lower prices of prepared food, personal care products, and cleaning supplies. The current account registered a smaller surplus as services, income, and transfers became deficit. The overall labor market improved slightly from both manufacturing and service sectors.
