Thailand central bank chief says 2% growth not enough

Thailand’s central bank Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said Thursday that economic growth of 2% would not be sufficient to support the country’s economy. Business Recorder reported the bank’s forecast at 2.4% growth this year and 2.1% next year, while a headline within the report described a revision to 2.1% for this year.

Ratanakorn warned that activity could weaken early next year when government stimulus measures end. A change in the manufacturing production index methodology is expected to add 0.1 to 0.5 percentage points to growth, but he said interest-rate cuts would not resolve structural weaknesses. The central bank kept its policy rate at 1.00% last week.