Recession fears mount as cases rise 12 FPO cuts GDP growth forecast to 1.3% published : 30 Jul 2021 at 05:43 12 Asoke junction along Sukhumvit Road, usually jammed with traffic, is dead as people work from home during the lockdown. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb) Thailand will likely be the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia this year, with economists continuing to slash the country's growth forecast amid surging Covid-19 infections, mounting political tensions and fading hopes for a tourism revival, according to Bloomberg. The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) downgraded the country's 2021 economic forecast to 1.3% GDP growth, a dip from an April projection of 2.3%, on the assumption new infections of Covid-19 will peak in the middle of August, said director-general Kulaya Tantitemit.