Thailand News

Pound Sterling Sentiment has decidedly soured towards the Pound today thanks to the news that Tata Steel will be cutting 1,170 jobs and mothballing several facilities from its UK operations. As this follows up the closure of the Redcar steelworks and lapse of steel products group Caparo Industries into administration the current picture of the domestic industry does not appear optimistic. With this additional pressure on the local economy the odds of a near-term move on interest rates from the Bank of England (BoE) have diminished...

With over one thousand anti-government protestors swarming around the Thai Prime Minister’s Bangkok home the Baht tumbled to a three year low against the US Dollar. Fears that the social unrest will spark political upheaval and subsequent economic damage left the Baht in a weaker position against the majority of its most traded currency counterparts. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has spoken out against the opposition Democrat Party’s intention to boycott next year’s election and protestors have taken to the streets as a...

After slumping to an almost 4 ½ year low against the US Dollar last week in the wake of strong US employment figures and the increasing odds of the Federal Reserve tapering stimulus in December, the Rand was able to claw back some ground during local trading. Although the Rand was far from buoyant it was able to push back below the 10.50 Rand per Dollar level as some investors speculated that the ‘Greenback’s gains may have been excessive. According to industry expert John Cairns; ‘Dollar/Rand is back in the low 10.30’s...

The Thai Baht has tumbled to a fresh low against the US Dollar and fell against many of its most traded peers as anti-government protests in Thailand intensify. Over 100,000 protestors have besieged a number of government ministries and look set to escalate the situation after calling on the nation’s civil servants to join their effort to remove embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from power. The protesters today occupied energy and transport ministry compounds and forced workers to evacuate. The protests have lasted...

As anti-government protests gather momentum in Thailand the Baht has tumbled against peers like the US Dollar and Pound. Although the Pound declined as UK mortgage approvals data fell short of expectations, the Baht edged lower against its British counterpart and hit a 10-week low against the US Dollar as protesters stormed the Ministry of Finance in their latest attempt to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s removal. Over 100,000 people are now engaged in protests against the unpopular political figure. With...

With the US Dollar fluctuating in response to mixed views regarding the prospect of the Federal Reserve tapering stimulus when it meets next week, the Thai Baht was able to brush a three-week high against the ‘Greenback’. This week the Baht has enjoyed its longest consecutive run of advances for over six months as the appeal of the emerging market asset was boosted by improving confidence in the global economic recovery. Stronger-than-anticipated economic data from China, the US, UK and Canada has supported higher-risk...

Ahead of the release of policy meeting minutes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee gathering, emerging market currencies like the Rupee, Rand and Baht are bearing the brunt of some significant shifts in sentiment. With some economists expecting the FOMC minutes to confirm that the tapering of US easing will begin in September investors are turning their backs on the higher risk assets, and they are plummeting as a result. Thailand’s Baht stumbled to a year-low against its US counterpart during the local session as...

India’s Rupee sank to a fresh record low against the US Dollar today as concerns rose that the steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India to curb the currency’s volatility will damage the nation’s appeal to investors. Earlier this week the central bank outlined plans to restrict foreign-currency outflows from local residents and companies. The financial institution also stepped up efforts to lure investment. According to economist Radhika Rao the central bank’s measures could ‘be perceived as being regressive and...

Commodity-driven and emerging market currencies have ended the week on a bit of a high as positive trade and industrial output data from China (the world’s second largest economy) spurred demand for higher risk assets. Thailand’s Baht rebounded from a month low against the US Dollar, strengthening to 31.23. The Asian currency was aided in its climb by the news that Thailand’s parliament passed the first reading of an amnesty bill for political prisoners yesterday. In response to the Baht’s movement analyst Pareena...

Thailand’s Baht was able to achieve an almost four-week high against the US Dollar after appetite for higher-risk assets was boosted by better-than-forecast import/export data from China. China is one of Thailand’s biggest trading partners and the world’s second largest economy, so the news helped the Baht rebound from yesterday’s month low against the ‘Greenback’. The Southeast Asian currency softened yesterday as Thailand’s parliament began to debate an amnesty bill regarding political prisoners, but news that...