Falling Exports Leads to Thailand Posting Slowest Growth in Three Years

Thailand recorded its slowest economic growth in three years in 2014 as political unrest curbed local consumption, while lower agricultural prices and cooling global demand hurt exports.

Gross domestic product rose 0.7 percent last year, the National Economic and Social Development Board said in Bangkok on Monday, matching the median estimate of 15 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. GDP grew 2.3 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, compared with the median of 2 percent in a separate survey.

Prayuth Chan-Ocha, the army chief who became prime minister after a coup in May, is struggling to accelerate budget spending after an $11 billion stimulus package failed to spur local demand. Exports fell for a second consecutive year for the first time in at least two decades, and the central bank has said there is a growing probability that headline inflation may miss its target because of lower oil prices.

Bloomberg

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