Thailand's Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA) on Thursday said it expects the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to cut rates twice this year starting from June and totalling 50 basis points.
"Data shows a weak economy and low inflation therefore the view is that interest rates will come down earlier," ThaiBMA President Somjin Sornpaisarn told a press conference, citing its survey of bond traders and fund managers.
The BoT has so far resisted government pressure to ease policy, holding the key interest rate at 2.50% in February, the highest in more than a decade, in a split vote. Its next rate review is on April 10.
The bond association maintained its outlook expecting 900 billion baht to 1 trillion baht (US$24.54 billion to $27.27 billion) in corporate bond issuance this year.
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy unexpectedly shrank 0.6% in the final quarter of 2023 from the third, with full-year growth at 1.9%, lower than the 2.5% growth in 2022.
Last month, the central bank lowered its 2024 growth outlook to 2.5% to 3.0% from 3.2%.