BANGKOK, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial confidence continued to improve in February, driven by lowered policy interest rates, a surge in foreign direct investment, and increased domestic consumption during the Chinese New Year festival, data showed on Wednesday.
The Thai industrial sentiment index rose to 90 last month from 88.7 in January, reaching the highest level in 11 months, as most components of the index picked up, except operating expenses, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
The reading was based on a survey of 1,340 entrepreneurs across 48 industry groups under the FTI.
Meanwhile, negative factors included persistently low production capacity in certain sectors, as well as an influx of foreign imports, which put pressure on domestic industries and raised concerns about trade circumvention, the FTI said in a statement.
The index forecast for the next three months stood at 97.4 in the February survey, up from 95.9 a month earlier, buoyed by the upcoming agricultural harvest of fruits, alongside anticipated economic stimulus measures from the incoming government, said FTI Chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul.
Despite that, the industrial confidence outlook for March pointed to a slowdown as protracted tensions in the Middle East adversely impacted global energy prices and overall production costs, Kriengkrai told a news conference. ■
