The Thai economy posted a smaller than expected contraction through the first three months of the year, under pressure by resurgence in coronavirus cases which hurt the tourism industry as well as domestic consumption levels. Data released by the National Economic and Social Development Council revealed that Thailand’s Q1 2021 GDP came in at -2.6% against economists’ expectations for a reading of -3.3% instead and the previous quarter’s 4.2% contraction.

The GDP also posted a growth on a quarterly basis, coming in at +0.2% QoQ in Q1 2021 against the forecast for a -0.8% reading instead. Although, the pace of expansion on a quarterly basis slowed down from the previous quarter when it touched 1.1%.

With Thailand continuing to battle fresh cases, like most parts of Asia, the government agency has revised its economic growth projections lower for the year, for the second time since the beginning of 2021. The agency now expects Thailand’s economy to grow by 1.5-2.5% through 2021, lower than the previous forecast of 2.5-2.5% growth made three months ago.

The somewhat optimistic news, however, failed to move the Thai baht which continues to trade weak against the US dollar as markets focus on rising coronavirus cases across Asia. At the time of writing, [[USD/THB]] is trading bullish at around 31.43.