A foreign tourist exchanges currency at a money exchange booth in Bangkok. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)
Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) expects the baht to remain weak for the rest of the year, despite its recent appreciation this week driven by external factors.The baht strengthened to around 33 per US dollar this week, primarily due to global developments.
According to Tim Leelahaphan, the bank's senior economist, the appreciation was largely driven by a joint yen-buying intervention by the US and Japanese central banks, which began late last week and has continued this week. The intervention put downward pressure on the US dollar.
The coordinated intervention also contributed to a decline in US Treasury yields, while a rebound in global gold prices from around US$4,000 per ounce to about $4,300 currently provided additional support for the baht.
On Monday, the yen held on to its gains after Japan and the US carried out the rare joint intervention, lifting the currency from its recent 40-year lows.
