The manufacturing sector in Thailand continued to expand in December, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 57.4.
That’s up from 56.8 in November and it moved further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Central to the latest expansion of the Thai manufacturing sector was rising demand. Incoming new orders rose the fastest pace in ten years on the back of marketing promotions and better underlying demand conditions. This contributed to higher production in December with nearly half of all respondents, at 48 percent, indicating growth in output compared with 11 percent that saw a decline.
Foreign demand remained subdued, however, as new export orders fell for the fifth month in a row. In response to higher production and in an attempt to rebuild inventory, Thai manufacturers raised their purchases at a quicker pace in December. However, the substantial rise in production resulted in a further depletion of pre-production inventories during the month.
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