BANGKOK, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial output fell in May due to a continued decline in automotive and electronic manufacturing amid a sluggish economy, official data showed on Friday.
The manufacturing production index (MPI) dropped 1.54 percent last month from a year earlier, after recording its first growth in 19 months of a downwardly revised 2.69 percent in April, according to the Ministry of Industry.
Auto production shrank for the 10th consecutive month in May as consumer purchasing power diminished, the ministry said in a statement.
Increased financial costs and debt burdens for manufacturers stemming from rising interest rates and high household debt, along with elevated energy costs, contributed to the drop in factory output, said the ministry's Office of Industrial Economics Director-General Warawan Chitaroon.
However, higher exports of industrial products, a recovery in the tourism sector and accelerated government spending were supportive factors, Warawan told a news conference.
For the first five months of 2024, the MPI fell 2.08 percent year-on-year. The ministry last month said the index is expected to range between zero percent and 1 percent this year. ■