BANGKOK, June 3 (Reuters): Consumer confidence in Thailand rose in May after falling for 13 straight months, according to a university survey carried out after the army seized power and said it will end political unrest and revive a stumbling economy.
The privately-owned University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's consumer confidence index rose to 70.7 in May from 67.8 in April, which was the lowest level since November 2001. Confidence had fallen for 13 months in a row.
The latest reading is the highest since January this year.
"The main factor boosting sentiment was confidence in the future due to political clarity. People were more confident that the economy would get better," Thanavath Phonvichai, an economics professor at the university, told a briefing.
The university said its survey had 2,251 respondents - about 40 per cent of them in Bangkok and 60 per cent in the provinces.
Months of anti-government protests in Bangkok contributed to Southeast Asia's second-largest economy shrinking 2.1 per cent in the first quarter from the previous three months, and recession loomed.
Political unrest has hurt confidence, domestic demand, investment, public spending and tourism, while adding to worries for Thai producers already suffering from poor exports.
In April, domestic car sales tumbled 33 per cent from a year earlier. Tourism, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the economy, has taken a hit, with arrivals down nearly 5.0 per cent in January-April from a year earlier.
From December until May 22 - the day the army took control - Thailand had a caretaker government with limited powers.
