Thai baht Declines Against the US Dollar

(CTN News) – The Thai baht recently had a spike in strength, but it has since fallen versus the US dollar. According to Kanchana Chokpaisarnsilp, a manager at the Kasikorn Research Center, as of today, December 16, the baht is now trading at approximately 35 to the US dollar.

According to Daily News, the Thai baht’s exchange rate yesterday was 34.92 USD.

Market analyst Poon Panichphiboon said that the US financial market is shifting to more risk-off circumstances despite worries about the Federal Reserve’s recent rake rise tendency.

The newest US economic figures show that retail sales decreased by -0.6% in November compared to the same month last year. This was considerably worse than anticipated, raising doubts about the future of the US economy.

The STOXX600 index of European equities fell -2.85% due to worries that major central banks may raise interest rates in the future.

The European Central Bank (ECB) signaled that it would keep raising interest rates until it is sure that it can properly manage inflation by raising its policy deposit facility rate by 0.50% to 2%.

The ECB has said that starting in March of next year and continuing until the end of the second quarter. It would cut its balance sheet reduction by 15 billion euros each month.

The Thai baht started at 34.78 to the US dollar on December 2 earlier this month. According to the central bank, economic growth this year is anticipated to be 3.2%, less than the previous forecast of 3.3%.

The US dollar’s decline, the sale of gold, and the possibility of more foreign bond purchases in the wake of persistently falling US 10-Year bond rates exert pressure on the Thai baht.

In the long term, economists had high expectations for the Thai baht. According to Kittika Boonsrang, a capital market research specialist at Kasikorn Bank, the Thai baht might reach a high of 33.5 to 34 per USD by the end of next year.

The projection, Kittika said, could only be met if Thailand increased exports and visitor numbers.

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