MPI rises 6.6% in January to reach 10-month high

Thailand’s Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) increased by 6.6% from December last year to reach 99.8 points in January, the highest level in 10 months, thanks to more business activity, driven by an uptick in tourism.

However, the January MPI decreased by 4.35% year-on-year due to the global economic slowdown and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, said the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE).

“We expect the MPI for the whole year to grow by 1.5-2.5%, with GDP growth in the industrial sector also standing at 1.5-2.5%,” said director-general Warawan Chitaroon.

Officials earlier predicted MPI and industrial GDP would both grow within a range of 2.5-3.5%.

“The OIE revised down the projection because of an ongoing process to change the MPI calculation and concerns over the…