BANGKOK : The Thai government will work with the central bank to manage the baht currency after it rose to its strongest levels in four years, and will monitor capital inflows and gold trading for any irregularities, the incoming finance minister said on Thursday.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas told reporters that he discussed stabilising the baht with Vitai Ratanakorn, who takes over as Bank of Thailand Governor on October 1.
Ekniti also said that any unusual capital inflows or gold trading would be investigated, although his deputy Vorapak Tanyawong acknowledged the baht could rise further due to foreign buying of bonds and stocks.
Following the comments the baht softened to 31.88 per dollar from Wednesday’s close of 31.73, but was still up about 8 per cent this year, the second-largest gain amongst Asian currencies behind only the Taiwan dollar.
The currency’s strength relative to regional peers is seen as a threat to exports and tourism, both key drivers of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
Earlier this week the central bank said it was considering a tax on gold trading along with other measures to restrain the baht’s strength.
In the January to July period, Thailand’s gold shipments surged 82 per cent year-on-year to $7.6 billion, with unusually large export volumes worth $2.1 billion to Cambodia alone.
