Thai factory output rises

Thailand's annual industrial output rose more than expected in November, after falling in the previous month, on higher production of cars, engines and rubber products. The manufacturing production index (MPI) in November rose 4.23 percent from a year earlier, the Industry Ministry said on Thursday. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a 1.90 percent rise.
October data was revised to a year-on-year fall of 0.33 percent from a 0.48 percent rise reported earlier. In the January-November period, the index rose 1.52 percent from a year earlier. The ministry expects output to rise 1.5 percent this year and 2 percent next year. Capacity utilisation at factories in November was at 64.16 percent, up from a revised 60.19 percent in October. Industrial goods account for 80 percent of total exports, which in turn make up about two-thirds of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.