Why is the Thai Baht so strong?

[fabman]

Makes you wonder why other countries would buy things like rice and A4 paper ( apparently Thailands biggest export) from Thailand anymore. Surely it's cheaper to buy from other south east Asian countries now.

[laphanphon]

it's also farangs selling imports at inflated prices in their shops / restaurants etc , so farangs ripping off other farangs

Why I rarely, if ever, frequent farang managed vendors. Find them to be the worse at price 'gouging', for lack of a better word.

Thais usually do everything much better anyway. And cheaper.

[oakdale160]

I have to say HH Ham & Bacon is an exception. He brings in stuff that is not available anywhere else.

[StevePIraq]

The following tells you why the Baht is strong, Nothing to do with farang businesses or Ham and Bacon comments which are so off topic.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Strong- ... or-exports

[handdrummer]

The following tells you why the Baht is strong, Nothing to do with farang businesses or Ham and Bacon comments which are so off topic.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Strong- ... or-exports

Interesting that the article speaks of a return to civilian govt. as an influence on the baht. If Prayuth remains PM & the army controls the upper house and constitutionally it will, will it still be considered a civilian govt.? And will that change the monetary prediction?

"One day we got ham and bacon, next day ain't nothing shakin', ain't nobodies business if we do."

[Nereus]

Baht surges to 5-year high near 31

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/fi ... gh-near-31

The baht soared to its highest level against the dollar in more than five years on Wednesday, on hopes that the US and China would be able to secure a trade deal and avert retaliatory tariffs. Analysts expect the local currency to continue marching past the 31-baht mark.

The baht's rapid gain could be due to dollar weakness as investors place bets that the US-China trade talks will reach a deal and that the US Federal Reserve will pause rate hikes for the rest of the year, said Roong Sanguanruang, head of global market research and analysis at Bank of Ayudhya.

She said the baht is the target of foreign fund inflows, due to Thailand's high current account surplus.

The baht is the best-performing currency in Asia, rising 4.7% so far this year to Wednesday's 31.07 -- the highest level against the US dollar since November 2013. Indonesia's rupiah is second with a 2.3% gain, followed by the Chinese yuan at 2.2%.

Local exporters' sell-off of the US dollar for the baht and foreign direct investment (FDI) to Thailand gave a boost to the baht this year, though portfolio investors have a net selling position, she said.

Given the US central bank's signalling of a pause throughout this year, fund inflows could be reversed to Asia and the baht is likely to rise above 31 against the greenback, Ms Roong said.

Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob last week voiced concerns over the rapid baht run-up but insisted that the stronger baht did not stem from December's 25-basis-point policy rate hike, given net fund outflows worth nearly US$300 million (9.33 billion baht) as of Feb 13 from investment portfolios.

The governor's comment was echoed by the Monetary Policy Committee's minutes from the Feb 6 meeting, released Wednesday, which said the baht strengthened mainly due to the weakening dollar.

The baht's movement was in line with those of emerging markets and regional currencies, while the nominal effective exchange rate index appreciated due to Thailand's strong external stability, which was partly reflected by the sustained current account surplus, the minutes said.

The committee added that the economy is likely to reach its potential but would experience increased uncertainties from external and domestic factors that could affect economic growth in the period ahead.

These uncertainties include trade protectionism measures between the US and China that could be prolonged and effect trading partners' economies and consequently Thailand's merchandise exports, a worsening outlook for Chinese economic growth, and the progress on infrastructure investment projects that could have important consequences for private investment.

A trader at Krungthai Bank, Jittipol Pruksamethanon, cited high demand for the baht prompted by the country's current account surplus, the bright outlook of the US-China trade negotiations and the US dollar's retreat.
"These factors could push the baht to strengthen further to 30.75 to the dollar," Mr Jittipol said.

Kasikorn Research Center said that if the US-China trade talks show positive signs and the Fed follows through on its hints of slower rate hikes at the March meeting, the dollar will be pressured and the baht will climb higher.

3107818.jpg (95.28 KiB) Viewed 300 times

[buksida]

Baht uptick deters arrivals
The strong baht is expected to affect the tourism industry as travellers may shift to other destinations in the region where local currencies have edged up at a slower pace, said a business leader.

Vichit Prakobkosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said the baht has appreciated against the US dollar by around 4% since the start of this year, outperforming other regional currencies.

He said the rise will hurt tourism as foreign travellers have to pay more while travelling here, pushing them to other Asean countries where currencies have appreciated more moderately.

At the start of this week, the Malaysian ringgit had risen 1.5% against the dollar, while Indonesia's rupiah strengthened by 2.2%. Singapore's dollar was up 0.9% versus the US dollar, while the Filipino peso increased 0.7%, and the baht gained 3.8%.

The baht's appreciation is one cause for the decrease in tourists that used Atta members services in all markets last month, said Mr Vichit.

In January alone, the number of international arrivals that used Atta member services plunged by 11.6% to 492,907, down from 557,305 in the same month of last year.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/fi ... s-arrivals

[europtimiste]

Thank's to high Baht Thai army can buy submarines, armoured vehicles and more for a advantageous price from China.
More they buy, more commissions for the junta. Those who pretend to fight corruption are the most corrupt.