Thai GDP Growth Slows as Unrest Increases Rate-Cut Pressure

Thailand’s economy grew at the slowest pace in almost two years last quarter as political unrest hurt local demand and tourism, increasing pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates and support expansion.

Gross domestic product rose 0.6 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, the National Economic & Social Development Board said in Bangkok today. The expansion was the smallest since the first quarter of 2012, based on previously reported data. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was 0.3 percent. The economy grew 2.9 percent in 2013 from a revised 6.5 percent in 2012.