Picture courtesy of Nikkei Asia
Thailand’s baht is rocketing towards its biggest quarterly rise since the Asian financial crisis, a development that has key tourism and export industries clutching their pearls.
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Thailand’s baht is rocketing towards its biggest quarterly rise since the Asian financial crisis, a development that has key tourism and export industries clutching their pearls.
Since the end of June, the baht has surged 10% against the dollar, its most significant gain since early 1998. This sudden leap has prompted frantic appeals from the tourism, hotel sectors, and business chambers for measures to cool down the rally.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan and Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul implored the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to step in and manage the baht’s runaway ascent.
Driven by a slump in the US dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut, the baht’s meteoric rise has far outstripped those of Thailand’s trade partners.
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) warns that this disparity may push international…