Baht weakens, sliding 9.5 per cent in 2020
The baht on Thursday (April 2) opened at Bt33.09 to the US dollar, weakening from Wednesday’s close of Bt33/USD, and would move between Bt32.95 to Bt33.20 per US dollar, SCB Securities senior market strategist Jitipol Puksamatanan said.
On Wednesday night, the financial markets were in a risk-off state. The S&P 500 fell by 4.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, the US 10-Year Treasury decreased by 9.3 basis points to 0.58 per cent, near the lowest point on March 9, causing the dollar to be weaker than gold and oil prices.
ADP Employment recently reported that private employment decreased by 27,000 positions, while ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index was in regression.
Moreover, new initial jobless claims this week reached 3.7 million, and would be over 8 million positions in the next week.
The US dollar index has swung between 98 to 100 points. “The market’s risk image would support the yen to strengthen, while the Covid-19 situation in Europe has pulled the Italian bond yields to grow,” the strategist said.
The baht, from the beginning of 2020, has weakened by 9.5 per cent, with 7 per cent of fluctuation.
Jitipol advised investors to monitor virus control trends in both Europe and the US. In the long-term, oil price was another matter worth monitoring.