(Adds details, outlook)
BANGKOK, March 29 (Reuters) - Thailand's manufacturing
production index (MPI) in February dropped by 2.71% from a year
earlier, as slowing global demand hurt exports, the industry
ministry said on Wednesday.
The figure compared with a forecast for a fall of 2.8% in
factory output for February in a Reuters poll, and came after
January's revised 4.81% year-on-year decrease.
Output March is expected to be steady or down slightly due
to a global slowdown, the ministry said in a statement.
However, domestic demand improved on the back of a rebound
in the vital tourism sector, which would underpin manufacturing
production, the ministry said.
Industrial goods account for about 80% of total exports,
which in January contracted 4.5% from a year earlier, commerce
ministry data showed. The commerce ministry is due to release
February trade data on Thursday.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Satawasin Staporncharnchai;
Editing by Ed Davies)
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