Thailand Viewpoint: Limited recovery in May

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Thailand Viewpoint: Limited recovery in May

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Thailand Viewpoint

Limited recovery in May

Sequential improvement in May 30 June 2026

The Thai economy improved in May after feeling the adverse impact of rising energy GEM Economics

costs in April, but the overall recovery remained limited. Export value excluding gold Asia | Thailand

declined 0.6% MoM SA, while divergence across manufacturing sectors became more Pipat Luengnaruemitchai

prominent. Both tourist arrivals and tourist spending improved sequentially, supported Emerging Asia Economist

by a recovery in long-haul markets. Kiatnakin+66 2 305Phatra9221 Securities

pipat.luen@kkpfg.com

Domestic demand uptick led by durables Kenneth Newell

Private consumption recovered by 0.6% MoM SA in May, bringing the YoY growth up to Economist

Kiatnakin Phatra Securities

2.7% from 1.4% in the previous month. However, most of the expansion was driven by +66 23059989

strong durable goods consumption (+5.6% YoY), especially EV sales, while non-durable kenneth.dona@kkpfg.com

(+0.7% YoY) and semi-durable consumption (+1.5% YoY) remained subdued. Private

investment was solid in May, supported by rising vehicle sales and continued strong

machinery and equipment investment, reflecting the ongoing positive trend in foreign

direct investment. SA: Seasonally adjusted

Divergence in manufacturing intensified EV: Electric vehicle

Manufacturing production continued to decline, falling 0.8% YoY in May. Production of

HDD: Hard-disk drive

electronics and technology-related goods, including HDDs, slowed substantially to +0.5%

YoY from +7.5% YoY despite strong exports, highlighting the limited domestic CA: Current account

production linkage from export growth. Meanwhile, motor vehicle production turned