Thailand
Bank of Thailand raises key interest rate
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points for a third straight meeting on Wednesday, as it tries to contain above-target inflation while supporting an economic recovery facing increasing global headwinds.
The BoT’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise the one-day repurchase rate to 1.25% at its final review of the year.
All but two of the 19 economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a quarter-point hike while the remaining two had predicted no policy change.
– Current account surplus –
The central bank said in a statement on Wednesday that Thailand recorded a current account surplus of US$0.8 billion in October after a surplus of $0.6 billion the previous month.
Exports, a key driver of growth, fell 3.6% year-on-year in October, with imports up 5.4% year-on-year. The trade surplus stood at copy.7 billion, the BoT said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2449855/bank-of-thailand-raises-key-interest-rate-by-25-bps-to-1-25-