industrial sentiment falls Across the board in oct

The Thai Industries Sentiment Index for October dropped to 75.5 points from 81.1 in September, due to the slumping global economy and the country's sticky political situation.

The Federation of Thai Industries conducted its monthly survey on 1,302 respondents covering 39 industries.

The sentiment index of each industry also declined due to falling sales and orders from both local and overseas markets, FTI chairman Santi Vilassakdanont said yesterday.

The sentiment index in the North, Central and East also dipped due mainly to sagging sales and orders from both local and overseas markets, while the Northeast and South moved upward in response to rising demand for some products and falling production costs.

The confidence index of manufacturers focusing on exports dropped significantly, as overseas markets have been battered by the US financial crisis and customers have postponed placing purchase orders.

Manufacturers want the government to speedily tackle the political instability to boost consumer and investor confidence, as well as quickly disburse the state budget to support economic growth.

They need the government

to seek new export markets

and maintain the baht at a level of 33-35 per US dollar, Santi added.