Thailand is heading for a rare back-to-back current-account deficit as the outlook for tourist arrivals becomes less rosy with a flare-up in Covid cases globally and energy import bills ballooning amid soaring oil prices.
The net-oil importer may post a shortfall of $4.6 billion this year, according to Bank of Ayudhya Pcl, which previously estimated a surplus of $5.8 billion in the current account -- the broadest measure of trade and investment. Nomura Holdings Inc., DBS Bank Ltd. and Maybank Investment Banking Group too expect Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy to post a second straight year of deficit, the first time since 1997.
