KBANK:Thai baht is likely to further soften in 2016

BANGKOK, February 9 (TNA) - Bangkok-based Kasikornbank (KBANK) has forecast that the Thai baht should further depreciate against the US dollar later this year to stay around 38 baht a US dollar. Thiti Tantikulanan, Chief of KBANK's Capital Markets Business Division, told journalists on Tuesday that the global foreign exchange market this year is expected to move in volatility less than last year when the US dollar strengthened by 8-9 per cent. Thiti said it is forecast that the greenback in 2016 would strengthen less than 2015, as the US economy has been best recovering, while the Chinese economy remains slow down and the European economy has been gradually recovering, while the Japanese economy still needs liquidity injections. Thiti foresaw that investment in the form of US dollar would continue this year and, thus, further weaken Asian currencies, including the Thai baht which is projected to further depreciate to 38 baht a US dollar, from around 35.5 baht a US dollar currently. Because of the stronger US economy, Thiti also projected that the US Federal Reserve (FED) would raise its key interest rate twice later this year, while the Bank of Thailand (BOT) would keep its key interest rate at 1.5 per cent to help boost the Thai economy. Meanwhile, KBANK has maintained that Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2016 should stay at about 3 per cent, while the world economy is forecast to grow by 3.2 per cent in 2016. (TNA)