Limited room for baht's appreciation due to economic challenges
The baht this week strengthened against the US dollar although the Covid-19 outbreak put pressure on all Asian currencies.
The US dollar strengthened against the yuan and euro, but weakened against the yen because the current economic condition still affects investor confidence.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that the Covid-19 impact would lead to the worst economic downturn in history since 1929, worse than the Great Depression.
A strategist at CIMB Thai Bank expected the baht next week to move between 32.30 and 32.80 per US dollar as the Covid-19 outbreak still pressured the baht and other Asian currencies.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index closed on Friday (April 17) at 1,239.24, up 39.09 or 3.26 per cent with total transactions worth Bt58.989 billion.
A strategist at Trinity Securities expected the index next week to fluctuate as the market has both positive and negative sentiments, such as a news report about a new Covid-19 antiviral drug and governments’ move to reopen cities.
“Also, we have to keep an eye on listed companies’ financial statements whether it would be worse than analysts' expectations or not,” the strategist said. “We expect the index to move between 1,150 and 1,250.”
The price of gold dropped to US$1,694.96 per ounce, while the price in Thailand was Bt25,950 per baht weight.
A strategist at YLG Bullion International said that the price of gold dropped as investors sold the metal to take profit.
“However, if the price can maintain its level over the zone between US$1,663 and US$1,682 per ounce, it would have a tendency to rise at the zone between US$1,706 and $1,720 per ounce in the short-term,” the strategist said.
