Baht touches two-week high

Published: 26 Nov 2012 at 18.33
Online news: News

The baht has risen again, touching the strongest level in almost two weeks, as a government report on Monday showed exports climbed last month by the most in more than a year. Government bonds were little changed.

Overseas sales, which account for about two-thirds of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, jumped 16% in October after rising 0.2% the previous month, official data showed. Global funds purchased US$386 million more Thai equities than they sold last week, exchange data shows. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for a fourth day.

"Risk sentiment has been stabilising recently and so funds are flowing into Asia, supporting regional currencies," said Tsutomu Soma, manager of the investment trust and fixed-income business unit at Rakuten Securities Inc in Tokyo. "Gains in stocks are also helping to boost investor appetite for emerging- market assets."

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pointoffew
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Discussion 7 : 27 Nov 2012 at 13.027
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upena, rest assured, the baht did NOT rise based on a government report, traders generally completely ignore "official Thai data" as strictly unreliable. In fact, the 0.1% rise of the baht reported here is not only strictly negligible and insignificant (such changes happen within a second), it ONLY refers to the US dollar. The baht dropped - 0.3 - 0.7% - compared to the Yen, GBP and EUR.
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boons
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Discussion 6 : 27 Nov 2012 at 03.556
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Thailand is an 80% export economy with a rising currency. That alone should be cause for very serious concern. But when one considers that Thailand is also an 80% export economy with an about-to-double minimum wage, it becomes plainly obvious that this cannot work. Thailand seems to be intentionally engineering anti-competitiveness. Expensive currency. Expensive wages. And now a free-trade zone which literally encourages manufacturers to move labor outside of Thailand's borders. It so unbelievable it almost seems like a joke. But it's not, and it's all happening in the very, very near future.
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DickFarang
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Discussion 5 : 26 Nov 2012 at 21.395
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@ Discussion 2 (phetpeter):

The Thai baht is artificially high, not artificially low.

I think I am going to buy some gold.

You never know when 1997 is going to be repeated.
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Ian
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Discussion 4 : 26 Nov 2012 at 20.354
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Strange during the last week the Pound has steadily risen against the Baht.
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DickFarang
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Discussion 3 : 26 Nov 2012 at 20.253
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Since a couple of days the Euro is rising to the baht.

Looks more like a dip of the US dollar.
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phetpeter
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Discussion 2 : 26 Nov 2012 at 20.032
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It will have to rise a damn site more before I bring anymore money into this country! The government might think its clever to hold it down so low, In the long run, people will and are spending there money elsewhere, both on goods and tourism.
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upena
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Discussion 1 : 26 Nov 2012 at 19.311
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If the baht rose based on a Government report, it just shows how the Thai government manipulates the currency.
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Baht touches two-week high | Bangkok Post: business