Thailand posted its widest trade deficit since early 2023, with a surge in imports of capital goods and raw materials from China, even as exports lost momentum after US buyers frontloaded purchases to beat higher tariffs.
Inbound shipments jumped 16.3% in October, beating even the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, while exports grew just 5.7%, missing estimates. As a result, the country’s trade balance swung to a $3.4 billion deficit, from $1.3 billion surplus a month earlier, the Commerce Ministry data showed Tuesday.
The wider deficit underscores imbalances in Thailand’s trade-driven economy. A sustained shortfall could ...