BANGKOK, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial output extended a decline for the 17th straight month in February due to an ongoing fall in automotive manufacturing amid high household debt and interest rates, official data showed on Thursday.

The manufacturing production index dropped 2.84 percent last month from a year earlier, easing from a revised 2.93 percent decrease in January, according to the Ministry of Industry.

The drop was attributed to a substantial contraction in auto production, both for the local market and exports, coupled with an economic downturn in major trading partners, the ministry said in a statement.

However, tourism-related industries, including petroleum refineries and alcoholic beverage production, benefited from a rebound in foreign arrivals to the Southeast Asian country, which saw a 50-percent year-on-year increase to 6.38 million in the first two months of 2024.

The fifth consecutive month of growth in industrial product export value, with a 5.2-percent gain from a year earlier in February, along with increased household consumption resulting from the government's tax deduction scheme, were supporting factors for the index, said the ministry's Office of Industrial Economics Director-General Warawan Chitaroon. Enditem

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