The Bank of Thailand on Friday revised up its growth forecast for the economy, citing expected gradual recovery in exports and continuing upward trend in private demand.

In its latest inflation report, the central bank raised its gross domestic product forecast to 4.9 percent in 2013 from the October projection of 4.6 percent growth.

The economy is estimated to have expanded 5.9 percent in 2012, up from the originally predicted 5.7 percent.

The positive momentum in private demand is continuing from the previous year, the bank said in the report. Exports are projected to recover gradually and contribute more significantly to growth from the second half of 2013 onward, it added.

The banks said that the global economy still remained fragile and continued to be the major source of risks for Thailand's growth. At the same time, it also pointed out that the downside risks from the global economy may decline going forward.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank maintained its inflation forecasts for 2013 and projects inflation to stabilize into 2014. Headline inflation is predicted to fall to 2.8 percent in 2013 from an estimated 3 percent in 2012. Inflation is expected to cool further to 2.6 percent in 2014.

Core inflation is seen easing to 1.7 percent this year from 2.1 percent in 2012, and then to 1.6 percent in 2014.

RTTNews