May exports rise 10.5% y/y seen up 10% y/y in H1

Thailand’s customs-based exports rose a faster than expected 10.5% in May from a year earlier, helped by more shipments of oil and passenger cars, according to customs department data.

That compares with a forecast for a rise of 6.7% in May in a Reuters poll.

Imports jumped 24.1% year-on-year in May, with a trade deficit of $1.87 billion in the month.

The commerce ministry was due to discuss the May customs-based trade data at a news conference early next week.

Exports are expected to rise by 10% in the first half of 2022 from a year earlier, remaining a key driver of economic growth, the national shippers’ group said earlier on Thursday.

A weak baht is helping shipments but making imports more costly, Chaichan Chareonsuk, chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, told a seminar.