Baht continues upward trend, as Fed surprises with rate cut

The baht is likely to move at between Bt31.25 to Bt31.45 per US dollar, SCB Securities senior market strategist Jitipol Puksamatanan said.
On Tuesday night, the financial markets were surprised by the US Fed’s emergency meeting, with an approval to lower the key interest rate  by half a percentage point  to the range of 1 to 1.25 per cent.
Fed chairman Jerome Powell said that the lower interest rate would not help the Covid-19 patients, but could reduce tension in US finance markets and the economy.
The S&P 500 recently fell by 2.8 per cent, while the 10-year Treasury bonds contracted by 0.18 per cent from the previous day.
Meanwhile, the yen strengthened to ¥107.16 to the US dollar, and gold price reached $1,643 per ounce, up 3 per cent.
Regarding the baht and other Asian currencies, Jitipol suggested that investors monitor the direction of capital markets closely.
“I advise investors to monitor the baht movement during the day as well,” he said. “Last week, the currency moved in a wide range, signalling the market’s liquidity was at a low rate.”