Government statistics show that Thailand's economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months. The expansion beat forecasts but was slower than the revised 1.0 percent in the first quarter.

The National Economic and Social Development Board attributed the better than expected performance to solid government and tourist spending. Still, the board kept its forecast for all of 2016 unchanged as exports are expected to be worse than earlier forecast on soft global demand.