The Thai economic activities in February softened from the previous month, specifically the service sector related to tourism as the number and revenue of foreign tourists decreased. Additionally, manufacturing production declined, particularly in the chemical and petroleum sectors, together with a slowdown in private investment after a good expansion in the previous period. However, exports increased in several categories, especially in automotive, electronics, and precious metals. Private consumption also improved, while government spending continued to expand from both current and capital expenditures by the central government.
On the economic stability front, headline inflation slightly decreased from the previous month, mainly due to lower energy inflation, driven by the high base effect and declining gasoline prices. Meanwhile, core inflation increased, following higher prices of prepared food, food ingredients, and public transportation fares. The current account registered a larger surplus mainly from improvement in the trade balance, despite lower surpluses from services, income, and transfers, due to lower tourism revenue. The labor market overall improved slightly compared to the previous month.
