Above: A series of bomb attacks will have only a temporary impact on the Thailand economy.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s gross domestic product growth came in at a better-than-expected 3.5% year on year for the quarter ended June thanks to robust tourism coupled with an improving agriculture sector that had been suffering from severe drought and low commodity prices.

Tourism once again expanded quickly while exports remained weak. The National Economic and Social Development Board kept its annual forecast of 3.0-3.5% growth unchanged, but edged the median target up to 3.4% from the previous 3.3%.

Above: The expansion came amid rising incomes for farmers.

A series of bomb attacks on Aug. 11 and 12 that hit several of the country’s well-known resorts, including Phuket, Krabi and Hua Hin, will have only a temporary impact on the economy and will not affect the full-year figures, Porametee Vimolsiri, deputy secretary-general of the NESDB, told reporters in Bangkok on Monday.

Instead, Porametee said, the national referendum held just a few days before the blasts — in which the public voted in favor of a military-backed constitution, paving the way for a general election in late 2017 — points to a stable political outlook and is a positive for economic growth.

Above:  Porametee Vimolsiri, deputy secretary-general of the NESDB said a stable political outlook and is a positive for economic growth.

For the second quarter, private spending rose 3.8%, compared with a 2.3% climb the previous quarter. The expansion came amid rising incomes for farmers due to the end of a long drought and the first rise in agricultural prices in 10 quarters.

Above: Thailand’s gross domestic product growth came in at a better-than-expected 3.5% year on year for the quarter ended June thanks to robust tourism coupled.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review