Bangkok: Thai consumer confidence fell for the eighth successive month in August to a 15-month low, as weak exports and a deadly bomb blast in the capital Bangkok hold back economic recovery, a university survey showed on Thursday. The consumer confidence index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce dropped to 72.3 in August from 73.4 in July.
The reading was the lowest since May 2014, when the army seized power to end months of political unrest. However, confidence should start to recover in the fourth quarter following the government’s new stimulus measures to help a struggling economy, the university said in a statement. The government unveiled on Tuesday 136 billion baht ($3.81 billion) of economic measures, including soft loans, aimed at lifting low-income earners’ purchasing power.
