BANGKOK, April 9 (TNA) - Thai consumer confidence continued a nosedive to hit its lowest in seven years due to anxiety over the political situation and global recession, according to statistics collected by a think tank.
Thanawat Polvichai, Director of the Economic and Business Forecast Centre of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said consumers are extremely concerned about unemployment and rising oil prices.
The sentiment is reflected by the fact that the fall in virtually all categories -- particularly, the confidence in employment opportunity and future income prospects -- resulted in overall consumer confidence index to dip further from 74 in February to 72.8 in March. This represented the lowest indicator of consumer confidence since February 2002.
Mr Thanawat said consumer confidence is likely to remain bleak over the next six months relative to political instability.
The public are aware of the government’s economic stimulus package amounting to 1.5 trillion baht over three years. The government needs to intensify stimulus efforts and stabilise the political environment, and the stimulus measures should have the effect of reviving consumer confidence by the fourth quarter, he said.
“The government ought to expedite disbursement of budget to achieve the 94 per cent spending target. State enterprises and local administrative organisations must be prodded to invest and spend, “he said, stressing that political stability is a requisite to breathe life to the economy. (TNA)
Business News : Last Update : 22:03:19 9 April 2009 (GMT+7:00)
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