Thai Central Bank Cuts Rate by 25 bps

Thailand’s central bank cut its main policy rate by 0.25 percentage point Wednesday and said capital controls are ready to be implemented if needed to contain the strength of Thailand’s currency, providing some relief for exporters struggling to cope with the rise of the baht this year but disappointing government leaders who have urged more-decisive action.

Bank of Thailand Gov. Prasarn Trairatvorakul said slower than expected growth in the first quarter of the year and a weak global economic recovery prompted the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to vote unanimously to cut the one-day repo rate to 2.50% from 2.75%. It was the bank’s first cut since a 0.25 percentage point cut in October last year.

“There was no political pressure in the rate-cut decision,” Mr. Prasarn said during an appearance on a popular early evening television talk show. “The committee wasn’t looking at the baht value when debating its decision, but the overall economic conditions.”

via WSJ

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza