Economics
Thailand Skips Lockdown to Save Economy, But GDP to Take Hit
- Recent virus wave threatens to weigh on consumer spending
- Government needs to boost spending to guard economy: analysts
A near-empty Soi Cowboy street in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 4.
Photographer: Andre Malerba/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Thailand’s latest virus outbreak is likely to crimp consumer spending and delay a tourism revival, prompting warnings the economy may undershoot expectations for a rebound this year and next.
Thailand hopes to avoid a full national lockdown to stem a wave of infections that began in mid-December and has spread to more than 50 of 77 provinces. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha this week ordered some businesses to close and curbed travel in the worst-hit regions, as opposed to the hard lockdown imposed to quell the initial outbreak last March.