Thailand’s Production Falls for First Time in More Than 3 Years

Bloomberg

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Thailand’s factory production fell for the first time in more than three years in February as rising fuel prices and falling overseas demand cut production of automobiles and electronics parts.

Manufacturing output dropped 1.6 percent from a year earlier compared with a 3.2 percent gain in January, the Bank of Thailand said. A Bloomberg News survey of seven economists had a median forecast of a 3 percent increase. The decline in production was the first since December 2001.
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Thailand, which imports almost all its oil, raised diesel prices by 3 baht (8 cents) a liter to a record 18.19 baht to ease the burden on state coffers after the government spent about 70 billion baht on subsidies over 14 months to cap fuel prices.

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