FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Upsurge in Covid-19 cases in Thailand could weaken baht

Upsurge in Covid-19 cases in Thailand could weaken baht

The baht opened at 29.92 to the US dollar on Monday, weakening from 29.82 at close on Friday.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.85 and 30.05 on Monday and between 29.75 to 30.25 this week, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.

Jitipol said the baht could weaken to Bt30 per US dollar, from the new Covid-19 cases in Thailand. However, investors’ view of the virus situation was more positive than before, as we were approaching soon the new year and a vaccine was likely to be available soon.

This week, the markets were saturated with news on the Covid-19 situation, as well as lockdowns across the world. However, the coronavirus has not pushed the VIX index to increase from its present level of 21.57 points.

Jitipol advised investors to monitor the meeting of the Thai central bank's Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday. He added that the committee would possibly maintain the interest rate at 0.50 per cent.

He added that the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index in the US was another data to be monitored. If the index falls below 97 points due to the market’s concerns about Covid-19, the dollar would possibly recover in the short term.

In the financial markets, trade was run on the assumption of the dollar tending to weaken and US fiscal policy being relaxed. The price of Bitcoin soared to over $23,000 (Bt690,011) per bitcoin, while the US Ten-Year Treasury yield rose to 0.95 per cent.

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