MPI up for two months in a row
The Constitutional Court is scheduled to convene on Tuesday to consider a petition submitted by the Senate in a bid to oust Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over a contentious leaked recording of a phone call with Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen on the Thai-Cambodian territorial dispute.
"The political problem has just started. Whether it will escalate or how the government will deal with it to prevent an impact on investment will soon be seen," said Passakorn Chairat, director-general of the OIE.
Investment will hardly avoid the impact of growing concern over the government's stability as the premier is losing the trust of the public, Apichit Prasoprat, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said earlier.
As of the end of May, the MPI grew steadily, driven by several factors, including car manufacturing, which increased by 12.8% year-on-year, and the value of exports, up by 18.4% cumulatively over an 11-month period.
"Car bookings at the Motor Show prompted manufacturers to increase production to deliver cars to customers," said Mr Passakorn.
Factories which sell products overseas also increased production to increase exports ahead of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff of 36% on Thai imports, estimated to come into effect around July 8.
In May, palm oil production soared by 25% due to more output and purchase orders from India, China and Myanmar.
Sugar manufacturing also increased by 21% due to an increase in sugar cane as a result of an uptick in rainfall. Farmers also expanded their plantations because of higher crop prices.
Capacity utilitsation stood at 61% in May, up from 56.6% in April.
However, local air conditioner production fell by more than 10% year-on-year in May despite strong exports. This was due to a drop in domestic sales amid the rainy season and the import of low-cost air conditioners.
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