Prawit asks Arkhom to keep a close eye on fuel prices, weakening baht

The baht has weakened to its lowest level in 16 years due to a strengthening US dollar. The Thai currency opened at 37.04 to the dollar on Wednesday, weakening from Tuesday’s close of 36.97.

Arkhom has also been urged to meet with private entrepreneurs to obtain accurate information on the status of their businesses, said government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri.

A Cabinet source said Prawit was uncertain whether the weakening baht would cause foreign-exchange loss in the import of oil and gas.

Prawit would prefer the baht strengthened to a level of 35 to the dollar, the source added.

Meanwhile, Arkhom said the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) would soon discuss the baht situation and the central bank’s guidelines.

The baht weakened due to the strengthening dollar amid uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve would raise the interest rate by a big margin to tackle inflation, he said.

Arkhom confirmed the baht had not weakened to the lowest in the region yet, adding that it was up to BOT whether to go in for an interest rate hike to keep pace with the US.

Separately, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce president Thanawat Phonwichai expected Thailand’s economy to recover “significantly” in the fourth quarter, thanks to a recovery in exports and tourism.

He also expected the economy to expand by 3.0-3.5 per cent this year.