All but two of the 19 economists in the Reuters Nov. 21-25 poll expect the BOT to raise its benchmark one-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent at its Wednesday meeting. The remaining two predict rates will remain unchanged.
“Negative real interest rates will continue to favour the Thai economic recovery as it diverges away from an ultra-tight monetary policy elsewhere in the world, most notably in the U.S. and Europe.” Despite the wide interest rate gap, the baht has been one of the top performers in emerging market currencies, depreciating only about 7 percent so far this year.
“Capital inflows have returned to its domestic bond and equity markets in the month-to-date, and the decline in foreign exchange reserves has started to reverse.”A weak currency is generally considered positive for the tourism-dependent Thailand economy.