Thailand Maintains Policy Rate At Record Low 0.5 Per Cent

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has maintained its policy rate at a record low of 0.5 per cent to support economic recovery amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. The BoT’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously voted to maintain the benchmark interest rate for a sixth straight meeting to preserve the limited policy space in order to act at the appropriate and most effective timing. In a statement Wednesday, MPC secretary Titanun Mallikamas said the impact of the latest outbreak of COVID-19 on the Thai economy is expected to be less severe than last year. “The committee expects the economy to expand somewhat lower than the previous forecast. “Nonetheless, the recovery prospect remains highly uncertain, which will depend mainly on the situation of the new wave of the COVID-19 outbreak and corresponding containment measures,” he said. Thailand, which was relatively successful in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, is facing a fresh wave of infections since December last year that started at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon province. The kingdom recorded 795 new COVID-19 cases and zero deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total infections in the kingdom to 21,249 cases and 79 fatalities. Titanun said the continuity of government measures and policy coordination among government agencies would be critical to support economic recovery. “The government should expedite budget disbursement under the restoration plan once the new wave of the outbreak becomes well contained. “Also, the government should implement supply-side policies to support business restructuring and upskilling of labour, which would help support sustainable economic recovery,” he said. On the movement of baht, Titanun said it was moving in line with regional currencies. “The committee will closely monitor developments of the baht, consider the necessity of implementing additional appropriate measures, and continue to expedite the new foreign exchange ecosystem,” he said. Last week, the Finance Ministry slashed its 2021 gross domestic product forecast from 4.5 per cent predicted last October to 2.8 per cent this year. -- BERNAMA