Thailand does not intervene with foreign exchange rates to gain competitiveness in trade, the local central bank’s chief was quoted by Asian Nikkei Review as saying.
Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob (Photo: asia.nikkei.com)
Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand does not intervene withforeign exchange rates to gain competitiveness in trade, the local central bank’schief was quoted by Asian Nikkei Review as saying.
The affirmation was made by Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob onApril 24 amid rising concerns that the country may become the first inSoutheast Asia to be placed under trade scrutiny by the US.
In the US Treasury's latest report released earlier this month, Thailand wasnot put on its watchlist due to its small trade volumes, but it has hinted itwill expand the list of countries under scrutiny in its next report expected inOctober this year.
With a huge current account surplus accounting for 10.8 percent ofits gross domestic product in 2017 and a trade surplus with the US topping 20billion USD, Thailand has already filled at least two of the three criteriathat the US Treasury uses to designate a trade partner a currency manipulator.
At the end of 2017, Thailand's foreign reserves totalled 202.5billion USD, a growth of nearly 20 percent year-on-year. The sharp rise hintedat baht-selling and dollar-buying by the Bank of Thailand.
In an interview with Asian Nikkei Review, VeerathaiSantiprabhob stressed that the Thai baht had been moving in line with marketsupply and demand, pointing out that the currency had been strengthening in thepast year to become one of the best-performing currencies in the region due tocapital inflows from advanced economies.
"We have no policies of fixing exchange rates at aparticular level or manipulating exchange rate to a particular level," hesaid.
He said that the central bank intervened only to tame sharpvolatility that could have "much implication" on the country's economicrecovery.-VNA
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Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob (Photo: asia.nikkei.com)
