(MENAFN – ING) First positive growth in months
Year-on-year export growth in most Asian economies surprised on the upside in December, which is why we expected Thailand’s exports to join the crew too. And we were right.
Exports turned a corner to positive territory in December, rising by 4.7% from a year ago after contracting by -3.7% in November surpassing our forecast of 2.0% YoY growth and the consensus view which was centred on continued contraction. The December data ends the negative export growth streak that was in place since May 2020.
Among the key export drivers, electronics staged a strong rebound by 15.9% YoY (prior -1.4%), agricultural products posted a modest pick-up by 2.1% (prior -2.4%), but automobile and parts exports softened by -0.2% (prior 1.6%).
Imports followed exports on the growth path too, posting a 3.6% YoY…
