1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,644.78 points, increased 1.26 points or 0.08% with a trading value of 68 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market moved narrowly in both positive and negative territory in today’s session as investors were cautious on the upcoming Fed’s statement at Jackson Hole. Meanwhile, regional markets closed mostly higher while European markets opened lower after the announcement that the UK will raise its energy bills by 80% in October and German consumer sentiment fell to record low.
The analyst expected the direction of SET Index next week will move according to Jerome Powell statement and tone at the Symposium scheduled to kickoff later tonight in BKK Time.
2) Thai exports in July missed expectations, increased 4.3% vs 11% expected
Thailand’s exports increased 4.3% in July to USD23,629.3 million, falling short of estimates of 10.7-11.0% growth, as agricultural exports dropped for the first time in five months, official data showed Friday.
Exports of industrial goods rose at a slow 0.1% rate in July, marking the 17th consecutive month of growth due to semiconductor shortages.
In the first seven months of 2022, Thailand’s exports have increased by 11.5%, totaling USD172,814.1 million.
Thailand had a trade deficit of USD3,660.5 million in July, raising the total deficit from January to July to USD9,916.3 million, according to the Ministry of Finance.
3) UK energy bills are set to rise 80% in October
Britain will raise its cap on consumer energy bills by approximately 80% to an average £3,549 from £1,971 a year, according to the announcement of an energy regulator on Friday.
The new price cap will indicate how much suppliers can charge households for their combined electricity and gas bill in England, Scotland and Wales. Nevertheless, the price will be recalculated by Ofgem, which will set it according to how much energy companies have to pay for the electricity and gas they supply to customers.
It will take effect on October 1, 2022, which will determine the amount 24 million households have to pay for their energy usage for the next three months.
Earlier, Cornwall Insight estimated that the price cap will increase again in January to around £4,650 a year.
4) German consumer sentiment falls to record low in September
German consumer sentiment is expected to hit a record low for the third-straight month in September as households in Europe’s largest economy are bracing for high energy bills.
According to the survey of GfK institute, its consumer sentiment index fell to -36.5 heading into September, a much lower figure compared to a revised reading of -27.7 and continuing in August with a downwardly revised -30.9 points.
The data in September is well below the level of the Great Recession in 2009 or at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
GfK institute also warned that the situation could get worse moving forward if there is not sufficient reserved energy, especially gas, to warm households during the upcoming winter.
