Baht weakens slightly in opening trade

The Thai currency is expected to move between 31.22 and 31.45 this week and between Bt31.05 and 31.65 today, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of Markets Strategy at SCB Securities.
He said the baht did not move in line with the dollar, forcing some investors to sell the Thai currency to avoid losses.
However, Jitipol said the baht’s movement was due to short-term factors and would not be affected in the long term. The baht could strengthen again if the dollar weakened while other Asian currencies recovered, he maintained.
China is to report its June export and import data tomorrow and other second quarter economic data on Thursday. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the European Central Bank (ECB) will hold key meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
The dollar has weakened by 0.7 per cent in the past week, with the capital market in a “risk on” state. The US currency is expected to be supported by BOJ and ECB polices, Jitipol said.
He added that a recovering Chinese economy will tend to strengthen the yuan but weaken the dollar.