A shortage of Japanese yen in Bangkok’s local exchange market is mainly due to an excessive demand by a large number of Thai tourists visiting the East Asian country during the Thai New Year holiday, the central bank said today.
Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said the disappearance of the yen from commercial banks and authorized money exchange outlets was unrelated to the central bank’s liquidity management of the Japanese currency.
The demand for the yen has surged among Thai tourists and its depreciation by 17 percent has made the currency more attractive for purchase with baht, he said.
He added that domestic yen reserves are limited but the shortage is only short term.
The temporary shortage will not have a negative impact on Thailand’s monetary system as the Thai private sector does not rely on cash in their business with Japanese firms, he said.
