BANGKOK, Thailand – The Thai baht closed at 33.60 per US dollar on March 14, appreciating from the previous day’s closing of 33.77 per dollar. The baht strengthened in line with global gold prices holding above $2,900 per ounce, and signs of foreign fund flows into the Thai bond market. Despite foreign investors selling a net 120 million baht in Thai stocks, there was a net inflow of 4.34 billion baht into Thai bonds.
Looking ahead to next week (March 17-21), the baht is expected to move within a range of 33.20 to 34.00 per dollar. Key factors to watch include the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and dot plot (March 18-19), the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and Bank of England (BOE) meetings, the US-China trade war developments, gold price trends, and foreign fund flows. Important US economic data to follow includes retail sales, housing starts, and existing home sales for February.
Additionally, markets will keep an eye on inflation figures for the Eurozone and Japan, as well as China’s economic indicators for January-February, such as industrial production, retail sales, and fixed asset investments.
