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Thailand: Baht expected to strengthen quickly in the short term
The baht opened at 32.71 to the US dollar on Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday’s closing rate.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 32.60 and 32.80 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
Poon expected the baht to strengthen in the short term amid hopes of an economic recovery.
The government might ease lockdown measures and foreign investors might invest in Thai stocks because the situation was stable and might be resolved soon.
Foreign investors also bought short-term bonds to gain profit from the currency.
He said the weakening dollar had led to Asian currencies strengthening.
The dollar’s trend will be clear after the US Federal Reserve moves to decrease quantitative easing at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
He said the baht had strengthened quickly because exporters had sold dollars, as they were surprised by the baht’s rebound.
The baht might slow down close to its support level of 32.50 to 32.60 to the US currency. The baht might strengthen to 32.25 if the baht went lower than its support level.
Poon was worried about the Covid-19 situation in Thailand, as he was not sure if the spread of the virus had been contained because enough proactive testing was not being done.
Poon added that the baht was likely to fluctuate and weaken as the situation was not clearly better.
Published : August 26, 2021