THAILAND’S GDP GROWTH DROPS TO 5.3% FOR FIRST QUARTER

BANGKOK - Thailand’s headline GDP growth for the first quarter fell well short of consensus at 5.3% year-on-year. Domestic demand disappointed, although credit growth and car sales should prevent a further material weakening of domestic demand going forward, says ANZ, adding that this will perhaps be the key to Thailand’s near-term monetary policy outlook. ANZ expects domestic demand to continue to underpin Thailand’s growth over the balance of 2013. “Domestic credit grew at average of 15.6% y/y in Q1, while automobile purchases continued to expand.