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BANGKOK: Thailand’s consumer confidence fell to a
new five-year low in July amid concern over high oil prices and
pressure on exports as the baht held firm against the dollar,
researchers said Thursday.
The July consumer confidence
index slipped to 75.8 points, the lowest since March 2002, from 76.8
points in June, according to a survey by the University of the Thai
Chamber of Commerce.
“Confidence dropped because of
concern over the strong baht, which affected exports and economic
growth,” it said in a statement.
Several Thai factories, including
a leading footwear maker, were forced to close their businesses
recently with the strong baht hurting its cost competitiveness in
the global export market.
Since early July, the Thai baht
has remained at near 10-year highs against the dollar, mainly driven
by massive capital inflows into the kingdom’s stock market.
“Consumer confidence is sagging
with no sign of recovery,” the pollster said, adding high oil
prices and ongoing political uncertainty under Thailand’s
army-installed government continued to pressure sentiment.
Thai consumer confidence has
remained below 100 for the last 37 consecutive months. A reading
below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists.
--AFP
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