Thai baht strengthens 3% against US dollar

BANGKOK, April 21 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) says that the Thai baht has strengthened about 3 per cent against the US dollar since early this year in line with other regional currencies, to 34.80-35.00 baht against the greenback now. Vachira Arromdee, BOT Senior Director for Financial Markets, told journalists of the update on April 20, noting that the Thai currency has appreciated to the current level after global oil prices stood above 40 US dollars a barrel. Vachira elaborated that an assurance given by the US Federal Reserve (FED) that it will not raise its key interest rate in the near future has also strengthened the Thai currency. However, Vachira pointed out if the Effective Exchange Rate Index for the Thai baht is taken into consideration, the Thai currency is found not to have gained more than other currencies in the region. The senior BOT official acknowledged that the Thai baht has become volatile due to external factors, with its average volatility detected at 4.5 per cent compared to other regional currencies, reflecting that the Thai baht is moving with stability. For foreign capital movements, the senior BOT official said there have been capital inflows to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), worth about 400 million US dollars, since early this year, and about 2.8 billion dollars to the domestic bond market, most of which is for buying short-term maturity bonds. According to the senior official, the BOT has closely monitored the situation on the global financial market and is ready to take action to maintain stability in the domestic financial market if movements of the Thai baht appeared to affect the recovering Thai economy in its real term. (TNA)