Thailand's economy grew a slower-than-expected 0.8 percent in the first quarter, held back by rising global oil prices, a bird flu epidemic and unrest in the country's Muslim south, a state-run agency said on Monday.
The data, which showed the slowest growth for the last 10 quarters and compared with a 2.5 percent gain in the last quarter of 2003, prompted the agency and analysts to downgrade their growth forecasts for the year.
"It should be a surprise and disappointment for financial markets because the momentum of the slowdown was much more than expected," research house IdeaGlobal said in a note to clients.
Before Monday's data, Thailand's gross domestic product had shown an accelerating trend, picking up pace since a flat spot a year ago.
GDP grew only 6.5 percent during the year through the first quarter, compared with 7.8 percent for the year to the previous quarter, the National Economic and Social Development Board said.