Baht hits high note against the dollar

Yesterday, the Thai baht hit a one-year high in relation to the U.S. dollar.

The baht hit a peak of 34.76 against the dollar in a new high for the current year.

TMB Analytics vice-president Jitipol Puksamatanan gave his expert opinion on why the baht is so strong right now. He noted that Brexit and weaker-than-usual U.S. economic forecasts are most likely the causes. He saw the baht getting stronger as investor interest turns away from those heavyweights and toward emerging markets, reported Bangkok Post.

The baht’s value is expected to rise a bit more this week and land at 34.6 or even 34.95, according to Jitipol.

Foreign portfolio investment into Thailand was USD2.23 billion in June, up substantially from just USD549 million in May, according to the Bank of Thailand.

That shift was due to foreign investors buying Thai securities after the Brexit vote and an announcement by the U.S. Fed about their delay on interest rate normalization until the end of the year.