Baht weakens slightly from Friday’s close

The currency is expected to move between 32.60 and 32.80 per US dollar today, and 32.45 to 32.95 this week, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of Markets Strategy at SCB Securities.
On the last working day last week, stock markets around the world were in a risk-on state, with the S&P 500 and Euro Stoxx 600 increasing by 1.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
However, the crude oil price rose this morning – after Opec+ agreed to decrease oil production – due to investors’ concern about a decrease in oil use in the next one or two months.
The price of WTI crude fell to $22.40 (Bt729.85) per barrel.
Meanwhile, the baht was traded in lower amounts, from both the energy business and car production.
Also, the selling power of stocks and bonds has started to drop as investors have not returned since they decided to invest in a “Developed Asia”.
“Without a new related factor, the baht would move in a narrow range,” the strategist forecast.
This week, investors must not only monitor financial policies to tackle the virus situation but also an International Monetary Fund estimate due out on Tuesday of the overall global economy.
In addition, US banks and big global corporations are expected to announce their first quarter 2020 earnings this week.
“The financial market this week would also move in a narrow range as investors are becoming very careful,” he added.