BANGKOK, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial output contracted in November, weighed down by lower petroleum production and a sharply stronger baht currency, official data showed on Monday.
The Southeast Asian country's manufacturing production index (MPI) sank 4.24 percent last month compared to a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Industry.
The decline was primarily attributed to major turnaround maintenance of oil refinery plants, while the strengthening of the baht hampered export competitiveness by raising prices abroad, said Supakit Boonsiri, director general of the ministry's Office of Industrial Economics.
Despite that, key supporting factors were the ongoing rise in automobile production as manufacturers needed to produce electric vehicles to compensate for earlier imports and the government's stimulus measures, Supakit told a news conference. ■