The WSJ‘s lede sums up the new data:
Thailand’s economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, but at a slower pace than market expectations, driven by strong domestic demand and record exports, though the natural disasters that hit Japan in March could trim the expansion in the April-June period.
The BBC notes that the economy “has grown by 3% in the first three months of 2011, helped by increases in both exports and consumer spending”:
This growth from a year earlier compares with a 3.8% rise in the last three months of 2010, said the National Economic and Social Development Board.
Thailand has been trying to boost growth after civil unrest last year.
The government has called elections in July and the strength of the economy will be a main issue.
The story includes a sidebar on food costs that begins:
Going to lunch costs more in Bangkok nowadays. Office workers seeking their standard bowl of noodles at a nearby food-hall have seen the price jump by 10 baht (£0.20; $0.33) in recent weeks. Coconuts, vegetables, fish – all are pricier in the fresh food markets which most households rely on.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg points out that inflation could be a problem:
Thai economic growth accelerated in the first quarter to the fastest pace in a year, adding pressure for higher borrowing costs to contain inflation as the government prepares for a July 3 election
And there’s this, on the baht:
The Thai baht fell 0.3 percent to 30.38 per dollar and has dropped about 1.3 percent in 2011, the worst performer among major Southeast Asian economies. That aids exports while providing less of a buffer against costlier global food and oil.
And more details on economic growth:
Thailand’s GDP advanced 3 percent last quarter from a year earlier, compared with 3.8 percent in the previous period, today’s report showed. The median estimate in another Bloomberg survey was for a gain of 2.6 percent.
The development board is maintaining its forecast for an expansion of 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year, said Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, its secretary-general.
Neighboring Singapore last week raised its 2011 GDP growth forecast to as much as 7 percent and Malaysia predicts its economy will expand up to 6 percent as Asia fights price pressures stoked by economic expansion.