Economic data says that Thai economy has recovered from global economic downturn
By Jon Fernquest
Today's
article is rich in economics vocabulary.Economics: Data confirm exit from slump
23/02/2010Chatrudee Theparat
Thailand's economy is expected to grow in a range of 3.5% to 4.5% this year after emerging from a year-long recession in the last quarter of 2009 on increased exports, household consumption and government spending.
The country's gross domestic product expanded 5.8% in the final quarter of last year compared with the same period in 2008, according to official data released yesterday by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).
recovered
- become normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
economic downturn, recession, slump - a period of time when the economy is in bad condition and income and wealth declines
confirm Y - say again or provide more evidence that Y is true
exit - leaving a place ทางออก
exit from slump - when the economy gets better again, recovery
slump - a period when an economy is much less successful than before and many people lose their jobs ช่วงเศรษฐกิจตกต่ำ , to fall suddenly ตกต่ำมาก
range - all the numbers between two numbers (example: ages in the range 18 to 25)
emerging - coming out of a place or a condition (here: coming out of a bad economy)
recession - a period when trade and industry are not successful and there is a lot of unemployment ภาวะเศรษฐกิจถดถอย
quarter - the accounting and financial reporting time period of three months used by companies, there are four quarters in a company's "fiscal year"
household - a group of people, often a family, who live together ครัวเรือน
consumption - using, eating or drinking something การบริโภค\
gross - a total amount, before anything is subtracted out
domestic - relating to a person's own country ภายในประเทศ
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of economic activity in a country, the value of the country's output of goods and services. GDP is defined roughly as: GDP = Household Consumption + Business Investment + Change in Inventories + (Government Spending - Taxes) + (Exports - Imports) (See Economist Glossary)
period - full stop มหัพภาค
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
official data - facts or information provided by the government
National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB, Sa-pa-pat) - Thai government planning agency for economic development, creates five year plans with an agenda of: 1. Alleviation of Poverty and Income Distribution problems, 2. Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness, 3. Promoting Social Capital Development, 4. Promoting Sustainable Development (See Wikipedia)
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
economic downturn, recession, slump - a period of time when the economy is in bad condition and income and wealth declines
confirm Y - say again or provide more evidence that Y is true
exit - leaving a place ทางออก
exit from slump - when the economy gets better again, recovery
slump - a period when an economy is much less successful than before and many people lose their jobs ช่วงเศรษฐกิจตกต่ำ , to fall suddenly ตกต่ำมาก
range - all the numbers between two numbers (example: ages in the range 18 to 25)
emerging - coming out of a place or a condition (here: coming out of a bad economy)
recession - a period when trade and industry are not successful and there is a lot of unemployment ภาวะเศรษฐกิจถดถอย
quarter - the accounting and financial reporting time period of three months used by companies, there are four quarters in a company's "fiscal year"
household - a group of people, often a family, who live together ครัวเรือน
consumption - using, eating or drinking something การบริโภค\
gross - a total amount, before anything is subtracted out
domestic - relating to a person's own country ภายในประเทศ
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of economic activity in a country, the value of the country's output of goods and services. GDP is defined roughly as: GDP = Household Consumption + Business Investment + Change in Inventories + (Government Spending - Taxes) + (Exports - Imports) (See Economist Glossary)
period - full stop มหัพภาค
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
official data - facts or information provided by the government
National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB, Sa-pa-pat) - Thai government planning agency for economic development, creates five year plans with an agenda of: 1. Alleviation of Poverty and Income Distribution problems, 2. Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness, 3. Promoting Social Capital Development, 4. Promoting Sustainable Development (See Wikipedia)
It was the first quarter of positive growth since the global economic crisis began in September 2008, which led to a contraction of 4.2% in Thailand in the fourth quarter of that year.
The contraction expanded throughout 2009, with the economy shrinking 7.1% in the first quarter, 4.9% in the second and 2.7% in the third quarter.
Positive growth in the last quarter narrowed the contraction for the full year to 2.3%, less than the 3% or more forecast earlier, said Ampon Kittiampon, the NESDB secretary-general.
positive growth - when
the economy is growing, getting bigger and people are making more and
more money
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤต
contraction - a period or reduced economic activity and incomes
narrowed the contraction - reduced the contraction (made the bad economic situation better)
expanded - getting bigger, increasing in size, positive growth
shrinking - getting smaller, reducing in size, negative growth
forecast - a statement about what will happen in the future based on information available now พยากรณ์
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤต
contraction - a period or reduced economic activity and incomes
narrowed the contraction - reduced the contraction (made the bad economic situation better)
expanded - getting bigger, increasing in size, positive growth
shrinking - getting smaller, reducing in size, negative growth
forecast - a statement about what will happen in the future based on information available now พยากรณ์
The positive fourth-quarter performance was attributed mainly to a revival seen in exports, tourism, household consumption and government spending.
Exports started to pick up for the first time in 13 months in November, driven by rising shipments of key agricultural and industrial goods as the global economic recovery took hold.
revival
- an improved situation or condition
pick up - go faster, increase
key - most important ที่สำคัญ
recovery - the process of becoming normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
took hold - starts to happen or starts to gain control
pick up - go faster, increase
key - most important ที่สำคัญ
recovery - the process of becoming normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
took hold - starts to happen or starts to gain control
In January, exports rose at their fastest rate for 18 months, gaining 30.8% from a year earlier to $13.72 billion, while rising 26% in baht terms to 453.42 billion baht.
The NESDB forecast exports this year to grow by 15.5%, up from 10% in an earlier forecast, with imports increasing 9%, up from 6.5% projected earlier.
rate
- the level or speed at which something happens or changes,
or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular
period อัตรา
in baht terms - the value is given using Thailand's currency the baht (not the US dollar)
projected - saying what will probably happen in the future (based on evidence or experience)
in baht terms - the value is given using Thailand's currency the baht (not the US dollar)
projected - saying what will probably happen in the future (based on evidence or experience)
Foreign tourists have also started to return to Thailand, which was wracked by unprecedented street protests throughout 2008 that culminated in the seizure and closure of Bangkok's two airports at the end of the year. In December 2009, a total of 1.7 million tourists visited the kingdom, a 40.8% increase year-on-year, with the figure totalling 14.16 million for the full year, a drop of only 3.1% against an earlier projected contraction of as much as 10%.
wracked by... - problems
had negative effect on...
unprecedented - never having happened before ที่ไม่เคยเกิดขึ้นมาก่อน
protests - meetings, sometimes forceful or violent, or public statements by people who strongly disagree with something ชุมนุมประท้วง
culminated in - ended with
seizure - the act of taking control of something, especially by using power or force การบุกเข้ายึด
figure - an amount of money จำนวนเงิน
unprecedented - never having happened before ที่ไม่เคยเกิดขึ้นมาก่อน
protests - meetings, sometimes forceful or violent, or public statements by people who strongly disagree with something ชุมนุมประท้วง
culminated in - ended with
seizure - the act of taking control of something, especially by using power or force การบุกเข้ายึด
figure - an amount of money จำนวนเงิน
The improving figures prompted the government's planning agency to increase its economic projection for this year to 4% growth compared with a range of 2.8% to 3.2% in an earlier forecast.
The projection is based on world economic growth of 3.8% to 4.2% and crude oil prices averaging US$75-85 per barrel.
prompted
- caused ก่อให้เกิด
projection - a calculation or guess about the future based on information that you have การคาดคะเน
barrel - the container that oil is stored in and also the unit for buying and selling oil
projection - a calculation or guess about the future based on information that you have การคาดคะเน
barrel - the container that oil is stored in and also the unit for buying and selling oil
However, Mr Ampon cautioned: "This recovery may be disrupted if political violence takes place.
Dusit Nontanakorn, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, agreed that the economy was on an upward trend spurred by rising exports, recovering tourism and investment
disrupted
- interrupted and prevented from continuing smoothly by creating
problems ขัดขวาง
violence - physical force with the deliberate intention of causing damage to property or injury or death to people ความรุนแรง
takes place - happens
Chamber of Commerce - an organisation of business people in a city, region or country
trend - a gradual change or development that produces a particular result ทิศทาง แนวโน้ม
spurred by - caused by
violence - physical force with the deliberate intention of causing damage to property or injury or death to people ความรุนแรง
takes place - happens
Chamber of Commerce - an organisation of business people in a city, region or country
trend - a gradual change or development that produces a particular result ทิศทาง แนวโน้ม
spurred by - caused by
However, he warned that Thailand's economy was still closely tied to the world economy, for which the recovery outlook remains uncertain.
The private sector would like to send a message to the Thai people that political conflict should be ended, as this it will weaken confidence of investors and eventually destroy this country," he said.
warned - tell
people that something bad might happen
closely tied to - very connected to, depends greatly on
outlook - what people think will likely happen in the future
remains uncertain - people still don't know what will happen
sector - a part of a country's economy or business activity ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ
private sector - all the businesses in an economy
public sector - all government spending and taxation in an economy
household sector - all the spending and income of families and individuals in an economy
conflict - angry disagreement between people or groups การต่อสู้, ความขัดแย้ง
confidence - being certain about things ความมั่นใจ
confidence of investors - when the people who provide money for businesses to operate feel that they might lose money and that it is not the right time to put money into businesses
eventually - at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process ในที่สุด
closely tied to - very connected to, depends greatly on
outlook - what people think will likely happen in the future
remains uncertain - people still don't know what will happen
sector - a part of a country's economy or business activity ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ
private sector - all the businesses in an economy
public sector - all government spending and taxation in an economy
household sector - all the spending and income of families and individuals in an economy
conflict - angry disagreement between people or groups การต่อสู้, ความขัดแย้ง
confidence - being certain about things ความมั่นใจ
confidence of investors - when the people who provide money for businesses to operate feel that they might lose money and that it is not the right time to put money into businesses
eventually - at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process ในที่สุด
(Source: Economics, Data confirm exit from slump, 23/02/2010, Chatrudee Theparat, link)
