AlHijjah 20, 1434, Oct 25, 2013, SPA -- Thailand's central bank on Friday lowered its forecast for the country's economic growth rate this year to 3.7 per cent, down from a 4.2-per-cent growth projection made in July, dpa reported. The Bank of Thailand also revised downward its forecast for the 2014 growth rate to 4.8 per cent from the previous projection of 5 per cent. "Growth projection for the Thai economy was revised downward in line with the more-than-expected moderation in domestic demand and delayed export recovery," said the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee. The bank said consumers were more cautious in their spending because of softening confidence and rising debt burdens. Thailand's household debt is now close to 80 per cent of gross domestic product, Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said last month. Debt has been driven up in part by the government's populist polices such as tax incentives to purchase cars which stimulated sales of 2.4 million vehicles last year. The central bank also lowered its inflation forecast for 2013 from 2.3 per cent to 2.2 per cent.
