BANGKOK, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's manufacturing sector expanded at a slower rate in March due to concerns over weaker demand and higher cost pressures, a survey showed on Monday.
The country's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) was recorded at 53.1 in March, down from 54.8 a month earlier, a signal of the first slowdown in growth since last November, according to S&P Global.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the manufacturing sector, while that below 50 represents a contraction.
The latest decline in demand for manufactured goods was underpinned by high inflation as price pressures reignited in March, said Jingyi Pan, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Elevated input costs and output price inflation highlight the need to control cost pressures, despite the obvious risk of inducing too much of an economic slowdown and thereby a downside risk to future growth. ■