BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s industrial sentiment in March fell for the first time in three months, with a future index pointing to a further fall on concerns about U.S. tariffs, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Tuesday.
The FTI’s industrial sentiment index dropped to 91.8 in March from 93.4 in February.
Another FTI index that projects sentiment over the next three months also fell for the first times in three months, to 95.7 in March from 97.6 in a previous survey, the FTI said.
Thailand is among the Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s measures, with a 36% tariff imposed.
However, a 90-day pause on the U.S. tariffs is positive, giving Thailand more time to prepare, Apichit Prasoprat, FTI vice chairman, told a briefing.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Thai-U.S. trade talks had been postponed from April 23, without giving a reason.
The United States was Thailand’s largest export market last year, accounting for 18.3% of total shipments, or $54.96 billion. Washington has put its deficit with Thailand at $45.6 billion.
(Reporting by Thanadech Staporncharnchai and Orathai Sriring; Editing by Martin Petty)
