Baht weakens slightly over second-wave virus fears

The Thai currency is expected to move between Bt31.35 and 31.55 today, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of Markets Strategy at SCB Securities.
He said capital markets on Monday night (Thailand time) were in a “risk off” state again due to concerns over the South China Sea situation between China and nearby countries and US carrier group exercises in the area. The S&P 500 decreased by 0.9 per cent, while the Stoxx Europe 600 increased by 1 per cent.
The market situation pressured the US Ten-Year Treasury yield to drop by 3 basis points to 0.62 per cent, while the WTI crude oil price fell by 2.5 per cent. The price of gold rose over $1,800 (Bt56,345) per ounce.
The dollar weakened by 0.1 per cent, while the European and Scandinavian currencies strengthened.
The baht meanwhile weakened again due to fears that Thailand could be hit by a second wave of coronavirus infections.
Jitipol advised investors to monitor China’s economic data and Beijing's conflict with Washington, which could force main investors to sell their risk assets in Asian markets.