Thailand's baht rose to its strongest level since July 1997 amid optimism the country’s improving economy will draw more funds from abroad.
The currency gained the most in two months as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares rebounded from its biggest loss since July. Appreciation was being spurred by a Fitch Ratings upgrade of the nation’s debt rating this month and because of upward revisions of economic forecasts, Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said on Wednesday, adding that the monetary authority was not concerned about the strengthening.
"The central bank seems to be tolerant of the gains, which also makes it easier for investors to put money into Thailand," Yuji Kameoka, chief currency strategist at Daiwa Securities Co said in Tokyo. "The nation’s economic performance is relatively strong, even among Asian nations, and that tends to attract fund inflows."
Thai banknotes (Bloomberg Photo)
The baht climbed 0.5% to 29.39 per US dollar as of 9.08am in Bangkok and earlier touched a high of 29.38, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This comes as global funds bought $2.1 billion more government bonds than they sold this month through yesterday, adding to net purchases of $2.7 billion in February and $3.7 billion in January, Thai Bond Market Association data show.
Fitch raised its rating on Thailand by one level to BBB+ on March 8, three levels above junk, citing a resilient economy and a more stable political environment.
The central bank raised its 2013 growth forecast in January to 4.9% from an October estimate of 4.6%. Deputy Governor Pongpen Ruengvirayudh said this month that the bank’s prediction will “most likely” be revised upwards to more than 5%. Gross domestic product expanded 6.4% last year.
One-month implied volatility, a measure of expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options, dropped 11 basis points, or 0.11 percentage point, to 4.79%.
Government bonds held steady, with the 10-year yield near this month's low. The yield on Thailand's 3.625% notes due June 2023 was little changed at this month’s low of 3.59%, data compiled by Bloomberg show.