Q2 GDP growth below forecast, outlook trimmed

Thailand’s economy expanded slower than expected in the second quarter, data showed on Monday, with strength in tourism helping to counter weaker exports amid a slowdown in global demand.

The government cut its 2023 gross domestic product growth forecast to 2.5% to 3.0% from a range of 2.7% to 3.7%, citing slower exports.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew 1.8% in the April-June period from a year earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said, below the 3.1% expansion expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Gross domestic product (GDP) had risen 2.7% year-on-year in the first quarter.

On a quarterly basis, GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in the June…