BANGKOK, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's business sentiment inched up in February due to improved confidence in production, employment and performance, data released by the central bank showed on Friday.
According to the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the Southeast Asian country's business sentiment index (BSI) was recorded at 48.8 last month, up from 48.0 in January, attributing mostly to improvements in the manufacturing sector.
The manufacturing index rose across all components and sectors, with the food industry, particularly processed food, seeing all sub-indices climb owing to destocking and increasing order books from trading partners, the BOT said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing index remained comparable to the previous month as respondents in the construction sector expressed optimism because of increased foreign investment in the industrial estate, but the delay in the 2024 fiscal budget approval impacted overall confidence.
The three-month expected BSI came in at 53.5 in February, edging down from 53.9 a month earlier, following declines in mostly every component, the BOT said.
The reading was based on a survey of 772 respondents from large and medium-sized firms, the central bank said. ■
