Thailand’s baht currency is still moving in line with economcic fundamentals and regional peers, the central bank governor said on Thursday, as the baht hovered near more than 29-month highs against the dollar.

Thailand’s external position is strong enough to cope with rises in US interest rates, Veerathai Santiprabhob told reporters.

The baht has strengthened by 8% against the greenback so far this year, the biggest gainer among Asian currencies.

Mr Veerathai also expected the central bank to maintain its current headline inflation target of 1% to 4% next year.

Thailand’s annual headline consumer prices rose 0.53% in September, below the target range, but Mr Veerathai said they should return to the band early next year or by mid-2018.