BANGKOK, May 18 : Thailand’s economy grew by 2.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, higher than the median forecast of 2.2 per cent in a Reuters poll of analysts.
On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expanded 0.7 per cent in the January-March period, data from the National Economic and Social Development Council showed, beating the poll forecast of 0.1 per cent growth.
The agency maintained its 2026 growth outlook at 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent. The Thai economy expanded 2.4 per cent last year, and has lagged regional peers since the pandemic.
The NESDC projected that exports, a key driver of Thai growth, would grow by 9.6 per cent this year, up from an earlier forecast of 2.0 per cent growth.
