Baht unchanged but political uncertainty a weak point

The Thai currency is expected to move between 30.95 and 31.15 today, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of Markets Strategy at SCB Securities.
On Thursday night, the financial markets moved in a narrow range. The S&P 500 decreased by 0.2 per cent, while Stoxx Europe 600 fell by 0.6 per cent.
This movement was caused by investors’ speculation, after the failure in the finalisation of US financial policies.
However, the market was supported by economic numbers. The initial jobless claims recently decreased to around 963,000 positions. Also, total claimants fell to 15.4 million people, showing that the US economy is recovering.
In the fluctuating financial market, the dollar weakened by 0.1 per cent, compared to other main currencies. Moreover, the US Ten-Year Treasury yield reached 0.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the baht moved in a narrow range, as the movement of capital markets in Asia was not clear -- whether it was positive or negative. The strategist believed that the main factor to affect the baht in the future would be the restart of businesses in the service sector around the world.
He added that the weak points of the baht were Thai political instability and slow economic recovery. These two issues obstructed capital flows into the country, he explained.