Baht expected to move in a narrow range until year-end

The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.95 and 30.15, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.

On Monday night, the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.4 per cent due to mass sell-offs of cyclical shares, but the Stoxx 600 Index rose by 0.4 per cent on hopes of a fresh European Union economic stimulus package.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate oil price rose by 0.9 per cent from the Opec+ move to cut production capacity, while gold price dropped by 0.6 per cent to US$1,828 per ounce due to investors' mass sell-offs to take profit.

In the financial market, the US Ten-year treasury yield dropped to 0.89 per cent due to lack of positive sentiments and the weakening dollar. The dollar fell to the weakest in two years due to uncertainty over the US states' lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, while the pound sterling rose to its strongest from hopes of the United Kingdom and the European Union reaching a Brexit agreement by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the baht is expected to move in a narrow range until the end of this year because Asian currencies have begun to hit a new high, while the capital market has become less attractive after the stock market hit their highest levels amid the economic recovery.