The Thai economy is likely to grow 5 percent in the third quarter and 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter, bolstered up by the highest growth in exports and tourism for this year, according to the Bank of Thailand (BOT).

In its estimate of the economic expansion in the third quarter,the BOT's Monetary Policy Group said on Thursday that the export value had increased to a record high of 29.79 billion US dollars, or around 1.19 trillion baht.

The central bank forecast that the Thai economy in the third quarter would grow 5 percent with a 0.5 percent deviation.

Usually, Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter will outpace that in the third quarter because it is a period of the highest export increase in every year.

As well, local tourism will be active both locally and overseas since people spend more to celebrate Loy Krathong and Christmas festivals.

Next year, the BOT believes the Thai economy will grow further at a rate of 5.5-6.5 per cent.

The central bank noted, however, that economic conditions next year needs to be closely monitored because there are a lot of unexpected risk factors, such as global oil price volatility, economic uncertainties of trading partners and possible global financial crisis.

Source: Xinhua