Thai August factory output rises 4.44% y/y, beats forecast

(Adds details) BANGKOK, Sept 30 (Reuters) — Thailand's manufacturing production index rose 4.44% in August from a year earlier, the industry ministry said on Wednesday, stronger than analysts' forecasts. The August reading compared with a forecast increase of 1.0% in a Reuters poll. The ministry has revised its MPI methodology, adding new electronics products and changing the weightings to support the country's new economic structure, Supakit Boonsiri, head of the ministry's industrial economics office, told a briefing. The August MPI was boosted by higher electronic output, government stimulus measures, and a weaker baht, he said. (Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by David Stanway) ((mailto:orathai.sriring@tr.com)