The Bank of Thailand should not raise interest rates this year as the baht is strong, inflation remains low and a trade war is a concern, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said on Thursday.
His comment came after the Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday voted 5-2 to leave the policy rate unchanged at 1.5%. Analysts viewed a growing split vote as a hint of a hike soon.
The BoT should consider a good timing for policy tightening and make sure it will not cause problems for the economy, Mr Apisak told reporters.
"The central bank said it was worried that the baht would strengthen because of fund inflows and also trimmed its inflation forecast for 2019. But why would they want to raise rates now?" the minister said.
The baht was trading at 32.38 per dollar on Thursday mid-morning, strengthening from 32.43 on Wednesday and hovering at more than three-month high against the greenback. It is Asia's best performing currency this year.