Thai baht swings 33.67-33.79 per US dollar, weakening alongside regional currencies and gold prices

BANGKOK, Thailand – Executive of Kasikorn Research Center, Ms. Kanjana Chokpaisalsin announced that the Thai baht closed at 33.79 baht per dollar on October 25, compared to the previous day’s close of 33.67 baht per dollar. The depreciation of the baht aligns with trends seen in other regional currencies and the decline in global gold prices, while the U.S. dollar continues to receive support amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will not accelerate interest rate cuts. This follows positive U.S. economic indicators, such as the preliminary PMI for the manufacturing and services sectors for October and weekly jobless claims, which surpassed market expectations.

In terms of fund flow on Friday, foreign investors sold a net of 39.09 million baht worth of Thai stocks but purchased a net of 658 million baht in Thai bonds.

Looking ahead to the baht’s movement range for the week of October 28 to November 1, the forecast estimates it will be between 33.50 and 34.20 baht per dollar. Key factors to monitor include Thai export figures, economic and financial reports for September, foreign capital flow trends, and Asian currency movements. Significant U.S. economic data to watch for includes the consumer confidence index, private employment numbers, non-farm payrolls, unemployment rates, and the PMI/ISM manufacturing index for October, along with labor market metrics from JOLTS, pending home sales, PCE/Core PCE Price Index inflation data for September, and GDP figures for the third quarter of 2024.

Additionally, the market is awaiting the results of Japan’s general elections on October 27, the Bank of Japan’s meeting on October 30-31, the October PMI index from China, and the third-quarter GDP and October inflation figures for the Eurozone.