Business confidence recovered in November after a fall in October, when executives and business owners fretted about the impact of a trade war on the Thai economy, a drop in Chinese tourist arrivals and low oil palm and rubber prices.
The Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) confidence index, which gauges nationwide business sentiment, edged up to 48.3 points in November from 48 in October, 48.4 in September and 49.8 in August. August confidence was a four-month high after 48.6 in July, 48.4 in June and 47.7 in May -- the month the survey debuted.
The TCC index sampled 333 TCC members nationwide, from every region, covering the agriculture, industrial, trade and service sectors.
"Thailand's overall business sentiment in November picked up thanks to positive factors, including an increase of fiscal spending and investment, continuous tourism and export growth, improving employment rates and better agricultural product prices, especially for paddy," said Sauwanee Thairungroj, president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
Ms Sauwanee said negative factors persist such as easing economic growth in the third quarter, lower private investment and border trade, the foreign exchange volatility and weak consumer confidence.
The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) reported in November the country's GDP showed no growth in the third quarter from the second, on a seasonally adjusted basis, after growing 0.9% in the second quarter and 2% in the first quarter.
On an annual basis, growth was 3.3% from July to September, easing from the second quarter's 4.6% and the revised 4.9% growth in the first quarter, the highest in five years.
For the first nine months, the economy grew by 4.3% over the same period last year.
Weak economic performance in the third quarter prompted the state planning agency to downgrade the 2018 GDP growth forecast to 4.2% from the previous 4.2-4.7% range. Exports are expected to rise 7.2% this year, rather than 10%.
For 2019, the NESDB expects GDP growth of 3.5-4.5%.
Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research of the UTCC, said the overall business sector still believes that economic situation will improve in the future.
A clearer outlook is likely after the reading in December because the survey in November did not take into account the US and China's 90-day tariff ceasefire, he said.
