MPC urged to urgently cut rate
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Praipol Koomsup, a Thammasat University's economic lecturer, urged the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee to urgently cut the policy rate, to weaken the dollar/baht exchange rate.
In an interview to Krungthep Turakij TV on Sunday, he said that the MPC should call for a meeting ahead of the schedule and discuss why the baht strengthened sharply against the greenback in the past week.
"The MPC may have had a secret meeting," he said.
After the April 3 meeting, the MPC is scheduled to reconvene on May 29. The central bank has been under overwhelming pressure to cut the policy rate, as the Thai baht has so far this year appreciated by 6 per cent against the US dollar. On Friday, it was traded at 28.60-62, the strongest level since 1997.
Treasurers expect the baht to continue its upward trend next week, due to continued capital inflows.
