Baht sinks on protests

Baht sinks on protests

Thailand’s baht touched an almost three-month low as protesters seeking to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra vowed more unrest after clashes left four dead in Bangkok at the weekend.

A tourists leaves a money exchange shop in Bangkok. The Thai currency drops almost a three-month low on Monday morning. (EPA file photo)

The currency fell after Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said on Saturday the demonstrations affect consumption, investment and tourism. Anti-government protesters removed barriers surrounding Government House and the prime minister’s office, and police spokesman Pol Maj Gen Piya Utayo said tear gas was fired to repel them. Global funds pulled a net US$2.8 billion from Thai bonds and equities in November, official data show.

“You just don’t want to buy the baht or Thai assets as we are seeing chaotic scenes on television quite frequently,” said Tsutomu Soma, manager of the fixed-income business unit at Rakuten Securities Inc in Tokyo. “Investors are not sure how it will end, while there’s growing concern about the impact on the economy as it’s prolonged.”

The baht dropped 0.5% to 32.225 per dollar as of 8.30am in Bangkok and reached 32.285 earlier, the weakest level since Sept 9, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It may break through a Sept 6 low of 32.48 in a week or so if the protests continue, Mr Soma said. The currency weakened 2.9% last month, the biggest monthly decline since May.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (7)