Thailand's growth in manufacturing slowed in October

Thailand's growth in manufacturing slowed in October as global economic expansion will slow and the country's worst flooding in five decades affect demand.

The industrial production index rose 6.2 percent last month from a year earlier, the Office of Industrial Economics, said on its website today. That compares with 8.1 percent increase reported earlier in September.

the largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia grew by 6.7 percent last quarter, the slowest pace this year, as exports declined and agriculture declined. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said November 24 the government "can not be complacent" about growth and has a room for stimulus measures if necessary.

"We expect the weak production" in the future due to a slowdown in export growth, Rahul Bajoria, a Singapore-based economist at Barclays Plc, said before the report. With "manageable inflation and the general risks of external growth, the Bank of Thailand, will most likely keep rates on hold."

The Bank of Thailand in October held its benchmark rate at 1.75 percent after increasing in July and August, regulators in Asia tried to stem the dollar profits and protect their economies from a slowdown in global expansion. The central bank is likely to remain unchanged borrowing costs in 2011 to counteract the lack of growth, the state planning agency, said this week.

Thai export growth slowed to 15.7 percent in October, the slowest pace in a year, a report showed last week, and the baht has appreciated more than 10 percent this year, the best performing in Asia , raising concerns that the property in Thailand can be more expensive compared to its regional rivals.