Cops cracks down on jab slot sales, after at least 7,000 ppl have bought Covid vaccination slots at Bang Sue Grand Station thru a loophole in the national vaccine recipient’s database.
FTI seeks to speed up vaccinations at factories: The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is working to acquire more vaccines from the Labour and Public Health ministries as well as the Chulabhorn Royal Academy to speed up vaccination for factory workers as Covid-19 infections spread at plants. Bangkok Post
Department of Energy Business reports 6M21 fuel usage -1.7% yoy due to soft jet fuel demand, -53.9% (4.6m l/d); LPG cooking gas +10.2% yoy to 16.5kg/day from recovery chemical business +21.8% yoy to 7.3mkg/day, industrial +14% yoy to 1.9m kg/day, household +4.7% yoy to 5.6m kg/day.
Cabinet okays aid for 16 provinces: Assistance to match that for first 13 areas. As the government added 16 provinces to the lockdown and curfew group, the cabinet yesterday approved an additional 30 billion baht to help workers and entrepreneurs in those provinces. Bangkok Post
BoT cuts 2021 GDP rise to 0.7%: Impact of third wave worse than expected. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has slashed its economic growth projection for this year again to 0.7% as the third wave of Covid19 has had a more severe impact on the country’s economy since the central bank conducted its earlier projection. Bangkok Post
MPI forecast revised up to 4-5% on export growth: Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) is expected to grow by 4-5% this year, up from an earlier forecast of 2-3% made by the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE), due mainly to fast-growing exports. The adjustment in the forecast was announced as the OIE reported the MPI index for June increased by 17.58% year on-year to 97.73 points. Bangkok Post
Unemployment hit 5-year high in Q1: The pandemic drove the country’s unemployment rate up to 1.96% in the first quarter, the highest level in five years, while the IT sector saw the highest number of job postings compared with other industries in the first half of this year, according to job search platform JobsDB. Bangkok Post
LNG imports get the green light: The National Energy Policy Council has given the nod to the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by seven firms. The National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) has given the green light to the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by seven firms in a move to promote competition in the LNG market. LNG imports are set at 0.48 million tonnes in the second half of this year, 1.74 million tonnes next year and 3.02 million tonnes in 2023, said deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, who chaired the NEPC meeting yesterday. Bangkok Post
Bank of Thailand voted 4:2 to hold rate at a record-low 0.5% for a 10th straight on Wednesday, as all 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey, cut 2021 GDP forecast to 0.7%, less than 2 months after lowering it to 1.8%. Finance Ministry last week revised forecast to 1.3%, from the 2.3% it expected in April.
Inflation rate registers 0.45% in July: The consumer price index (CPI), a gauge of headline inflation, decelerated in July from the previous month because of government subsidies for utilities, tuition and education fees to alleviate the impact of the prolonged Covid-19 outbreak. The Commerce Ministry reported yesterday inflation was 0.45% in July after tallying 1.25% in June, 2.44% in May and 3.41% in April. Bangkok Post
