December 12, 2008
Bangkok (Manager Online) - The confidence indexes in 82 months all plunged because of political uncertainty, according to a survey.
It was the first time a political factor affected the confidence indexes more than oil prices, according to University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
Economic growth may be minus 2-3 percent if the political problem escalates.
The cost of living is still high although oil prices have declined. The Internal Trade Department was urged to examine the case.
Overall economic confidence remained at 67.1 while the employment confidence at 67.9 and future income confidence at 87.8 respectively.
Consumers were still worried about expensive product prices, since current incomes did not serve the high cost of living.
Up to 50 percent of the respondents said it was not the right time to buy a new car whereas 44 percent would not buy a new house and 58 percent thought it was the right time to spend on travel.
Happiness index remained at 87.6 in November, compared to 92.5 percent in October.
