Thai Dec factory output up 23.4 pct y/y; less than expected

On a year-on-year basis, industrial output rose 23.4 percent in December from the low base a year earlier when severe flooding devastated industry. The increase was below the 32 percent forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

On a monthly basis, unadjusted output fell 6.31 percent in December after a revised 8.25 percent expansion in November.

For all of 2012, output rose only 2.51 percent. The Industry Ministry has said the flood-hit, important electronics sector has been slow to recover. Due to the floods, output fell 9.3 percent in 2011.

The Industry Ministry has forecast total output will rise 3.5-4.5 percent in 2013. Pimonwan Mahujchariyawong, an economist at Kasikorn Research Center, said the December figures showed that industrial recovery was slower than expected.

"We expect that at the start of 2013 industrial output will revive but overall manufacturing production index (MPI) figures this year will not be particularly impressive," she said.

"For manufacturing, the recovery of the global economy should be a plus and the baht's strength could impact exports in a negative way, including MPI," Pimonwan added.

Overall capacity utilisation was about 69 percent in November, not much improvement from 58.7 percent for all of 2011. The textile industry's rate was only 43 percent in that month but the auto sector's was 117.8 percent, fuelled by a government subsidy for first-time car buyers. The

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