However, exports continued to contract.

Krisda Chinavicharana, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, said private consumption showed signs of improvement from March as collection of value added tax at constant prices returned to positive territory at 2.5 per cent year on year.

VAT collection based on domestic spending advanced 6.2 per cent. However, VAT collection on imports contracted 3.6 per cent.

April motorcycle sales rose 2.9 per cent, attributed to sales promotions.

The Consumer Confidence Index for the overall Thai economy decreased to 61.5 as consumers were still concerned over purchasing power affected by droughts and global economic uncertainty. Scores below 100 indicate a deteriorating outlook.

Private investment in April showed better signs in construction, as taxes from property transactions accelerated by 58.8 per cent year on year, compared with the previous month’s 15.7-per-cent rise.

Last month, cement sales inched up 0.1 per cent year on year, while investment in equipment and machinery slowed down. Imports of capital goods shrank 13.4 per cent.

The government’s budget disbursement climbed 16.8 per cent to Bt223.6 billion. Its net revenue collection shrank 0.5 per cent year on year to Bt170.3 billion, resulting in a deficit of Bt56.4 billion.

In April, exports returned to negative territory, contracting by 8.0 per cent year on year in US dollar terms.

Exports of all product categories excluding agricultural faced shrinkage, while exports to its key trade partners including the United States, China, Japan, the European Union and Asean-9 suffered contractions. However, exports to the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam expanded.

Tourism continued its expansion. The number of foreign tourists coming to Thailand increased by 9.8 per cent year on year in April, particularly from China, Russia, South Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

The Agricultural Production Index contracted 1.6 per cent in April, particularly from paddy rice and oil palm. But the figure after seasonal adjustment rose 2.4 per cent for rubber, tapioca, corn and livestock.

Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) was 85.0, down from the previous month, on business operators’ concerns over the baht’s appreciation that affected export competitiveness and drought that led to shortages of raw materials.

The economy continued to be stable with low headline inflation of 0.07 per cent and core inflation of 0.78 per cent in April.

The unemployment rate stayed at a low level at 1.0 per cent of the total workforce, or 396,000 unemployed in April.

Public debt to gross domestic product at the end of March was 44.0 per cent, being within the 60-per-cent sustainability level

Foreign reserves were was US$178.6 billion at the end of April, about 3.2 per cent higher than the country’s short-term external debts.