Baht weakens a tad in line with dollar

The Thai currency is expected to move between 30.90 and 31.10, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of Markets Strategy at SCB Securities.
Yesterday, the S&P 500 and Stoxx Euro 600 increased by 0.5 and 0.6 per cent respectively, despite economic data showing both positive and negative performance. Also, the US government is tending to use financial policies to support the economy, he said.
According to the US, employment increased by 167,000 positions. Besides, ISM non-manufacturing recovered to 58.1 points from 57.1, showing that the service sector could afford to hire more people.
The positive market situation and recovering bond yields were a signal of the “risk on” state of the market, he said.
However, the dollar failed to strengthen after the US Ten-Year Treasury yield increased to 0.54 per cent.
The strategist also said the dollar’s weakening was clearer after the market believed the US government would implement more financial stimulus policies. The dollar index in this situation decreased by 0.5 per cent, compared to other currencies. The Norwegian krone and Swiss franc were among currencies that strengthened at a high rate.
As for the baht, the currency moved in line with the dollar and the gold price. Moreover, a freezing of the interest rate at 0.5 per cent led to reduced market concern about Thai financial policies, Jitipol said. One point to monitor is US non-farm payrolls, which could weaken the dollar, he added.