BANGKOK, June 6: Thailand’s economy slowed sharply in the first quarter of 2005, growing 3.3 per cent due to a sharp spike in oil prices and a rise in consumer prices, the government’s economic think tank said on Monday.
The first quarter growth compared with 6.1 per cent in all of 2004, the National Economics and Social Development Board (NESDB), the government’s economic advisory body, said in its latest quarterly economic outlook.
The NESDB, however, expects a better economic performance in the second half of 2005 as “temporary hindering factors diminish,” public spending increases, and exports of agricultural products are further stimulated.—AFP
