IMF lowers Thai GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 2.7% due to global situation
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its economic growth projections for Thailand for this year and 2024.
The growth rate for this year has been lowered from 3.4% to 2.7%, and from 3.6% to 3.2% for 2024, as a result of global economic uncertainties, including China's economic slowdown and conflicts between Israel and Palestine.
The IMF report, released during October 9-15 this year at the World Bank Group – IMF annual meeting in Morocco, also highlighted the impact of rising global oil prices following the Israel-Palestine conflict. The report mentioned that Thailand's inflation rate remains relatively low compared to other countries in the Asean region, partially due to government assistance programmes and decreasing food prices in several countries, including Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the director of research at the IMF, noted that the Israel-Palestinian conflict had led to an immediate 4% increase in oil prices and could potentially result in a 10% surge, impacting the global economy by around 0.15% and leading to a 0.4% expansion in inflation worldwide.
