The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has predicted volatility in the money market due to the ongoing risk from the US extension of its debt ceiling.
Pongpen Ruengvirayudh, BoT deputy governor for monetary stability, said there were periods when the Thai baht dropped by 7-8 per cent though it had never before slid down 10 per cent.
It cannot be predicted whether the US will extend the debt ceiling after the February 7, 2014 deadline but the BoT will keep sufficient foreign reserves to cope with the possible baht volatility, she said.
The Thai currency will be maintained at a level acceptable to Thai business operators and to prevent severe impact from foreign capital outflows, she said.
Ms Pongpen said the BoT will launch its Thai Direct Investment (TDI) webpage to provide one-stop information to investors and to encourage more Thai business operators to invest abroad.
Thai investors have invested at a total of US$5.5 billion in the first eight months of this year, a slight decrease from the same period last year at US$7.8 billion.
Thai investment overseas amounted to US$12.7 billion last year.
