Thailand faces current account blowout on oil, tourism risks

Thailand faces current account blowout on oil, tourism risks

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.





March 23, 2022 / 02:20 PM IST





A foreign tourist takes a photo from a boat on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Photographer: Luke Duggleby/Bloomberg



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.

“The odds are now shifting toward a current-account deficit for Thailand this year,” said Krystal Tan, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking