Baht expected to move in wide range, influenced by global factors

The Thai currency is expected to move between 31.08 and 31.28, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of Markets Strategy at SCB Securities.
On Monday night, the markets turned positive due to technology stocks. The S&P 500 and Stoxx Europe 600 rose by 0.3 per cent, near the highest point before the Covid-19 crisis.
At the same time, the market was supported by the crude oil price which increased by 1.9 per cent, amid investors’ expectation that the Opec+ representatives would reach an agreement on oil production control.
In the financial market, the US Ten-Year Treasury decreased by three basis points, since investors were not sure the US Congress could stimulate the economy rapidly as expected. This political matter weakened the dollar by 0.2 per cent.
The strategist said that the baht this time would move in a wide range, since foreign investors are concerned about political fluctuation in Thailand, as well as the direction of the Thai economy in the future. These two issues have prompted investors to release their baht stocks.
However, the strategist said that the two issues would not affect the currency much in the long term, adding that the main factor directing the baht was the world economy.
He explained that if the economy could recover in the last quarter of this year, Thai tourism would be supported and exports would recover.