Thai central bank cuts growth forecasts, sees 2014 export drop

An employee at an assembly line in Ford Thailand's manufacturing plant in Rayong province, east of Bangkok. The sputtering of Thailand's traditional growth engine, exports, has been a big factor in an economic recovery not getting on track after the army seized power in May 2014 - Reuters Photo.

BANGKOK: Thailand's central bank said exports would shrink this year, leading it to cut its projection for 2014 economic growth to just 0.8% from 1.5%.

And for the new year, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) on Friday slashed its export-gain forecast to only 1%, from 4%, and cut the economic growth projection to 4% from 4.8%.