Hanoi (VNA) - The Thai baht was theworst performer among commonly traded Southeast Asian currencies during thefirst quarter of 2021, the Nikkei Asia Review cited Refinitiv, a global providerof financial market data and infrastructure.
The baht depreciated 4 percent against the USdollar to 31.24, standing out from regional peers, which also were in decline.It reached the cheapest level in roughly half a year on December 31.
Thailand’s weakening fundamentals led to thedrop.
The country's current account turned to adeficit of 1.4 billion USD in Q4 of 2020 from a surplus of 6.6 billion USD inQ3 and 11.5 billion USD in the same period of the previous year. It was thefirst time Thailand has recorded a deficit since Q3 of 2014, according to theBank of Thailand.
Service receipts from tourists, an importantcontributor to the current account surplus, plunged to 742 million USD in Q1this year, only 5 percent of the same period a year ago, because of borderclosures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Starting April, Thailand will shorten itsmandatory quarantine from 14 days to 10 days to revive tourist inflow andspending, according to the Nikkei Asia Review.
The fall was also magnified by a seasonalfactor. Local affiliates of large Japanese companies repatriated some of theircash before Japan's fiscal year closed in March.
The depreciation at the current pace may notcause a headache for the government. When the baht hit a seven-year high inDecember 2020, the Thai Government was concerned about the adverse impact onindustrial exports.
Among other regional peers, the Indonesianrupiah and Malaysian ringgit fell 3.4 percent and 3.1 percent respectively inQ1. The Singaporean dollar and Philippine peso also fell over 1 percent./.
The baht depreciated 4 percent against the USdollar to 31.24, standing out from regional peers, which also were in decline.It reached the cheapest level in roughly half a year on December 31.
Thailand’s weakening fundamentals led to thedrop.
The country's current account turned to adeficit of 1.4 billion USD in Q4 of 2020 from a surplus of 6.6 billion USD inQ3 and 11.5 billion USD in the same period of the previous year. It was thefirst time Thailand has recorded a deficit since Q3 of 2014, according to theBank of Thailand.
Service receipts from tourists, an importantcontributor to the current account surplus, plunged to 742 million USD in Q1this year, only 5 percent of the same period a year ago, because of borderclosures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Starting April, Thailand will shorten itsmandatory quarantine from 14 days to 10 days to revive tourist inflow andspending, according to the Nikkei Asia Review.
The fall was also magnified by a seasonalfactor. Local affiliates of large Japanese companies repatriated some of theircash before Japan's fiscal year closed in March.
The depreciation at the current pace may notcause a headache for the government. When the baht hit a seven-year high inDecember 2020, the Thai Government was concerned about the adverse impact onindustrial exports.
Among other regional peers, the Indonesianrupiah and Malaysian ringgit fell 3.4 percent and 3.1 percent respectively inQ1. The Singaporean dollar and Philippine peso also fell over 1 percent./.
VNA
