Bangkok, Economic and Business Forecast Center University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Revealing the results of the January 2024 Consumer Confidence Index survey, improving continuously for the 6th month due to support from government measures through reducing electricity prices. Oil and others Meanwhile, the Thai Chamber of Commerce Confidence Index improved slightly. But still worried about the war between Israel and Hamas. It started to come back violently. and the problem of lack of liquidity that we would like the government to find a way to support. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thanawat Phonwichai, President of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Advisor to the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, said the results of the survey of the Consumer Confidence Index for January 2024 improved continuously for the 6th month due to consumers. Confidence began to return after the government was established and the government created a policy to reduce the cost of living by reducing the cost of el ectricity and gas. As well as having various policies to stimulate the economy. In addition, consumers see that Thai politics will be more stable in the future after a government is formed that dissolves various political divisions. that have different opinions, with the political conflict likely to be resolved As a result, consumer confidence in every item has improved in every item. However, consumers are still concerned about the global economic slowdown. A war in the Middle East that may prolong and escalate This may be a factor that increases the pressure of the recovery of the global economic system into recession. This has a negative impact on Thai exports and may have a negative impact on the purchasing power of people in all regions in the future. The overall economic confidence index Index of confidence in overall job opportunities and the index of confidence in future income was at the levels of 56.9, 59.5, and 72.2, respectively, improving continuously for the 6th month in every item, compared to the index in December 2023, which was at the levels of 56.0, 58.7, and 71.3, respectively. It shows that consumers are gradually beginning to have more confidence that the Thai economy can recover after the government is established from September 2023 onwards. However, the index is still lower than normal (at the 100 level), indicating that Consumers are still uncertain about the economic situation. Opportunity to find work and future income because there is concern about the political situation in the country Energy prices and the cost of living remain stable at high levels. as well as the global economic problem that is at risk of entering a state of slowdown. This will affect the Thai economy and employment to have a chance to recover slowly in the future. This makes the future income of consumers highly uncertain. However, the improvement of the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) from 62.0 to 62.9 is an improvement for the 6th consecutive month, which is at the highest level in the past. 47 months since Ma rch 2020 onwards, however, the fact that the overall consumer confidence index still moves below the 100 level shows that Consumers still see that the overall economic situation is still slowly recovering, high living costs, and rising interest rates in Thailand and around the world. as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine. with Israel and Hamas in Gaza may drag on. It has a negative psychological impact on domestic purchasing power. Tourism sector, export sector, general business and future employment There is still an opportunity to continually undermine consumer confidence both at present and in the future in the near term. In this regard, current consumer confidence has improved continuously for the month from 45.4 to 46.2, while the future confidence index has improved for the 6th consecutive month as well, improving from the level. 69.9 to a level of 70.9. The fact that the consumer confidence index returned to improve in every item indicates that consumer confidence has begun to improve due to t he more stable political situation. As a result, consumer confidence is likely to continue to improve in the future. Especially if the government can stimulate the Thai economy to recover quickly and concretely in the first half of 2024 under the announced policies. In addition, the opinions of the business sector From members of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in every province across the country. The Thai Chamber of Commerce Confidence Index in January 2024 improved slightly to 54.8 as the business sector was concerned about the war in Israel. and are concerned about future situations, including drought, PM2.5 problems, and overall tourism impacts The problem of economic slowdown in the US and China is still of great concern and the problem of exchange rate fluctuations. As a result, the economy's growth is not outstanding. But it has still exceeded the median level of 50 for 10 consecutive months since March 2023, indicating that the economy is still viewed as starting to recover gradually. But I want the go vernment to move forward quickly to help reduce the cost of living for the people even more. Including finding concrete measures to reduce costs for operators throughout the system. As well as managing the PM2.5 problem to reduce it as well. Source: Thai News Agency