BANGKOK, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial output continued to slump in November due to an ongoing decline in auto production and weak domestic demand amid high household debt and bad loans, official data showed on Friday.

The manufacturing production index (MPI) fell 3.58 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 0.61 percent decrease in October and marking the sharpest contraction since March, according to the Ministry of Industry.

The Southeast Asian country's auto production tumbled 27.21 percent in November compared to a year earlier, as domestic sales of pickup trucks and passenger cars slowed on the back of banks tightening lending standards, coupled with softening demand from export markets, the ministry said in a statement.

For the first 11 months of 2024, the MPI shrank 1.78 percent year-on-year, said the ministry's Office of Industrial Economics Director-General Passakorn Chairat.

Continued recovery in the vital tourism sector and expansion in industrial product exports are expected to drive the MPI growth in 2025, along with the government's measures to reduce living costs and boost consumption, Passakorn told a news conference.

Last month, the ministry downgraded its MPI projection to a 1.6 percent decrease this year, from the rise between 0 percent and 1 percent expected earlier. Enditem

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