Illustrative image (Source: Internet)Bangkok(VNA) - The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) iscalling on the Bank of Thailand to launch new measures to rein in the baht'srapid gains after the currency hit a more than six-year high.
FTIChairman Supant Mongkolsuthree said that the Thai government should take careof the baht's fluctuation, as it poses a strong impact on the export sector.
Hesaid the global market is suffering from instability caused by the US-Chinatrade war.
The USFederal Reserve (Fed) left its key interest rate unchanged and was prepared tostart cutting rates if needed to protect the US economy from trade conflictsand other threats, he noted.
TheFTI expects the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank to bringthe baht's appreciation up for consideration at today's meeting.
Thecountry's policy rate is currently 1.75 percent.
Companiesin the agriculture sector rely heavily on exports and using local materials, sothey feel pressured by the baht's strength, he said.
Meanwhile,Thai farmers are facing a host of problems such as the low prices of farmproducts, higher competition and a sluggish global market.
Thebaht surged to its highest level in more than six years last week to 30.86 bahtagainst one USD.
Thebaht has seen some of the highest gains in Asia, Supant said, holding that thepotential rate for exporters to benefit is closer to 35-36 baht against one USD.
Thailand'sexport sector accounts for 65-70% of GDP. In May, the country suffered a year-on-yeardecline of 5.8 percent in export revenue to 648 billion baht (21 billion USD),leading to a decrease of 2.7 percent in the first five months of 2019.-VNA
VNA
