TOKYO -- Thailand’s manufacturing sector improved slightly in December thanks to growth in output and export sales, according to a survey.
The seasonally adjusted Nikkei Thailand Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, rose from 49.8 in November to 50.3 in December, edging above the 50-point line separating expansion from contraction. The reading marked the first improvement in the health of the sector since July.
The figures showed signs of a stabilisation in demand conditions, and inflows of new businesses were supported by export order growth.
“While the sector ended the fourth quarter with the weakest quarterly performance in two years, other survey indicators pointed to a brighter outlook in 2019,” said Bernard Aw, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
Further improvement in the coming months “will lend support to the central bank’s desire to create some policy cushion by raising interest rates,” he added.
(Nikkei)
For more information, visit here.
