Thailand worries about weakening baht
The Ministry of Finance will hold talks with the Bank of Thailand to discuss and delve into the factors behind the weakening baht, Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has said.
Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith (Photo: The Nation)Arkhom said the depreciating currency has added to inflationary pressures thus necessitating an examination into whether the declining value of the baht is linked to the country's economic fundamentals or external factors including the fast-strengthening greenback, the Bangkok Post reported.
The Bank of Thailand is in charge of monetary policy and there is not much the ministry can do to intervene, so the planned talk will be a joint analysis to see whether the baht is depreciating too fast and how its decline in value is affecting the economy, businesses and consumers, he added.
He said the government has introduced a raft of measures to alleviate the impact of high energy prices to help businesses maintain their production costs.
The minister said when the US Federal Reserve is finished hiking interest rates in a bid to control inflation, the Thai currency will adjust accordingly.
The planned talk between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand comes amid concerns about the slide in the baht's value by Acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Prawit said he had instructed the ministry, central bank and other agencies during a cabinet meeting on September 20 to discuss ways of stopping the baht's slide./.
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