Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,379.63 points, decreased 0.60 points or 0.04% with a trading value of 40.98 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market traded sideways and had no supporting factors, apart from the anticipation of the US inflation figures coming tonight. As for the filing petition of the Election Commission of Thailand to the Constitutional court regarding a consideration for the dissolution of the Move Forward Party, the analyst expected the circumstances to have a limited impact. The Thai market was expected to mainly depend on the inflation figures from the US. If the numbers were close to expectations, there could be some divestment of some speculative stocks. Meanwhile, if the figures were largely lower than expected, the market would take it as a drive to edge higher.
A total of six airlines, including THAI, BA, AAV, Thai Vietjet, Thai Lion Air, and NOK, have proposed additional flight schedules on 11-12 and 15-16 April 2024, to support the rise in travel demand for the upcoming Songkran Festival Holidays.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) stated that it had already cooperated with the six airlines and planned for the proposal for the additional flight schedules, which will add 104 flights and 17,874 seats to the existing capacity during the period.
These additional tickets for extra flights during the holiday were expected to be distributed on 12 March 2024 with a 20% discount, in accordance with a short-term measure from the Ministry of Transport to manage the overpriced flight tickets during holiday season.
In addition to Thailand’s most notable festival in April, UNESCO recently inscribed Songkran Festival or Thai New Year Festival on its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.
The inscription would promote the tradition and its value to be recognized internationally, manifest the local wisdom and cultural diversity in various regions of Thailand, and encourage the community to pass on such culture to the next generation. This could give Thai tourism during the Songkran festival another boost in revenue.
According to the official US FiscalData, for the fiscal year 2023 ended in September 2023, the US government slipped into a deficit of $1.70 trillion on its spending, as the country spent $6.13 trillion, mainly on variety of goods, programs, and services to support the American public and pay interest incurred from borrowing, while collecting revenue of only $4.44 trillion, mainly from individual income taxes.
The revenue per person for the US was $13,341 per person, while the spending was $18,406. Both figures rose by 4% and 63%, respectively, compared to FY2000, reflecting potential growth in population and spending.
The circumstances resulted in an increase in US federal debt, as it accumulated to $33.17 trillion at the end of FY2023, surging by $2.24 trillion compared to 2022. The current public debt is now at $34.46 trillion. Data from the US Treasury Department shows that the US national debt increases by $1 trillion every 100 days.
Meanwhile, the US government carried on its negative trend in 2024 (October 2023–present). Though the government has collected revenue of $1.58 trillion, an increase of 8% YoY, the said amount is still less than the $2.12 trillion spent, which also increased by 10% YoY.
On Monday, the US Treasury stated that the proposed US government budget from President Joe Biden would increase taxes on businesses, wealthy individuals, and estates by $4.951 trillion for a period of over 10 years.
Biden aimed to increase taxes as a part of his election-year budget wish list, which included plans to support low- to middle-income Americans with overwhelming housing and childcare costs while also focusing on cutting the country’s deficit. However, an acceptance of the plan from Congress seemed unlikely.
