Thailand’s cabinet has reallocated 157 billion baht ($4.7 billion) of budget spending away from a consumer stimulus scheme to fund projects in the coming months that will help counter the impact of U.S. tariffs, the government said on Tuesday.
Most Asian stocks rose marginally on Tuesday, with China in the lead after Beijing cut a key lending rate as expected, while Australian shares maintained gains after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates and warned on the economy.
Oil prices steadied on Tuesday due to uncertainty in U.S.-Iran negotiations and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while new government data delivered a cautious outlook for top crude-importer China’s economy.
The U.S. dollar slipped lower Tuesday ahead of a crucial tax vote, while the euro gained on the raised likelihood for Ukraine-Russia peace talks.
Chinese industrial production grew more than expected in April as factory output remained strong despite some headwinds to overseas demand from steep U.S. trade tariffs.
Thailand’s economic growth saw an uptick in the first quarter of the year, but there are expectations that the rest of the year may not be as robust. The stronger public demand that boosted growth is likely to be balanced out by weaknesses in other areas of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).