BANGKOK, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's economy expanded 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025 from a year earlier, driven by continued growth in exports and a rebound in private investment, official data showed on Monday.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the April-June period softened from an upwardly revised 3.2 percent expansion in the previous three months and marked the slowest rate since the second quarter of last year, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
On a quarterly basis, the GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2025, slowing from a 0.7 percent rise in the first three months of the year and registering the sixth successive period of expansion, the NESDC said in a statement.
For the first half of this year, the GDP increased by 3 percent, the state economic planning agency said.
The Southeast Asian nation's economy is projected to grow in a range of 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent this year, narrowing from an earlier forecast of 1.3 percent to 2.3 percent and decelerating from the 2.5 percent recorded in 2024, said NESDC secretary-general Danucha Pichayanan.
Danucha noted that the anticipated decline in merchandise exports in the latter half of this year, due to the implementation of U.S. tariff measures, is expected to impact growth and put pressure on the manufacturing sector amid a tourism industry slowdown.
The Thai economy would also face constraints and risks from high levels of household and corporate debt, volatility in agricultural prices and output, and uncertainties surrounding global trade and economic conditions, he told a news conference. ■
