Thanawat said the rising oil prices and manufacturing costs had stepped up pressure on the recovery of the global and Thai economies and Thai exports, as a result consumer sentiment had dropped because people’s incomes could not match the rising cost of living.
He said the UTCC expects consumer sentiment to improve in May when the government’s measures to mitigate the people’s cost of living would take effect.
He said the UTCC still maintained its economic growth forecast at 3.5 per cent.
Thanawat said there were good signs that consumer sentiment would rise in the late second quarter because the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has eased travelling restrictions on foreign arrivals since April 1. The CCSA lifted the requirement of an RT-PCR test before departure to Thailand. The relaxation of measures would help the tourism sector to start recovering and becoming…
