The Bank of Thailand is expected to cut the policy rate to a record low of 1.25% at next month's meeting to help spur the country's economic growth, according to Standard Chartered Bank Thai.
The country's economic momentum is slowing, weighed down by the US-China trade spat, and rate-setters are likely to slash the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to boost growth, said Tim Leelahaphan, the bank's Thailand economist.
The Economic Intelligence Center, a research unit under Siam Commercial Bank, recently predicted that the central bank would further ease monetary policy by cutting the rate once more this year.
Mr Tim said Standard Chartered's 2019 global research surveyed 100 fund managers, large corporate clients and multinational corporations and found that 48% of respondents expected a quarter-percentage point cut to 1.25% this year or next year, 29% expected the rate to be trimmed to below 1.25%, and 23% expected the rate to remain the same.
There are two more Monetary Policy Committee meetings this year, on Nov 6 and Dec 18.
The central bank left the policy rate unchanged at 1.50% on Sept 25 after a surprise 25-basis-point cut in August.
The deteriorating relationship between the US and China was the survey respondents' biggest concern, followed by monetary policy becoming ineffective, Mr Tim said. They said the remedy is to boost the economy, rather than use monetary or fiscal policy.
The survey found that 49% of respondents had felt the pinch of trade tensions, while 59% were pessimistic about the economic outlook in the next six months.
Moreover, 60% were surprised by the stronger baht, saying the sluggish economy doesn't justify the appreciation.
Mr Tim said 37% were negatively affected by the baht's appreciation and had difficulty managing foreign exchange risk.
Standard Chartered predicts the baht to hover around 30.50 to the US dollar during October and November before weakening to 31 by year-end.
The baht is Asia's best-performing currency, up about 7% against the dollar this year.