COVID-19 outbreak continues to weigh on Thailand's economic growth

BANGKOK, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's central bank said Friday that the country's economy in June continued to be impacted by the latest COVID-19 outbreak, the most deadly wave since the pandemic began.

In June, the country's private consumption remained weak, while the tourism sector has yet to recover, but exports, which jumped 46.1 percent year on year, had supported the economy along with public spending, the Bank of Thailand said in a statement.

The country's headline inflation in June declined from May as the low base effect from energy prices gradually abated while core inflation was stable. The labor market remained vulnerable because of the third wave of the outbreak that started in early April.

The central bank said manufacturing production declined slightly from the previous month as production in automotive, petroleum, and construction materials dropped in line with the weak domestic demand.

The global shortages of shipping containers and semiconductors also weighed on production, especially in the food processing, electrical appliances, and automotive sectors, it said.

The manufacturing production index, a gauge of manufacturing activity, fell to 17.6 in June from 25.7 in May, according to the central bank.

On Friday, the country reported 17,345 new cases and 117 additional fatalities, raising the total number of infections to 578,375 and the cumulative fatalities to 4,679.

Thailand's economy posted its worst performance in more than two decades last year, plunging 6.1 percent from one year earlier. Its growth outlook this year has been downgraded by various institutions because of the third wave of the outbreak.