BANGKOK, May 30 (TNA) -- Thailand's importing more and more highly priced oil and gold in April this year had pushed the country to suffer a current account deficit as high as US$1.661 billion, the highest since June 2005, a senior Bank of Thailand (BoT) official said Friday.
 
Amara Sripayak, BoT senior director for the domestic economy, said that in April the country suffered a trade deficit of US$1.768 billion.
 
The sharp increase in deficits for both current account and trade were attributed to imports in April valued at US$15.399 billion, up 41.5 per cent year-on-year, Mrs. Amara said.

Of the total value, the value of imported oil accounted for 79.7 per cent from the corresponding period of 2007 as oil price jumped to US$103 from US$64.5 per barrel. Also, oil imports also rose to 26.6 billion barrels from 23 billion barrels.

She said gold imports in April also increased 61.5 per cent after the price dropped in March.

Thailand's exports in April were valued at US$13.631 billion, an increase of 27.7 per cent from the same period of last year, she said.
 
The private investment index in April rose only 5.6 per cent in line with a decline in the business confidence index, which retreated to 43 from 47.3 and its index in the next three months which is projected at 49.9, still below by half.

April's inflation was at 6.2 per cent due to the sharp increase in food prices. Core inflation stood at 2.1 per cent. Local political turbulence which includes a failure by the government to propose a motion in rewriting the constitution, which will continue to depress investment, Mrs. Amara said.