Baht at 10-year high

The Thai baht appreciated to another high against the dollar during Monday trading sessions, while exporters dumped the US dollar after concerns of the continually strengthening baht.

The baht got very close to the 33 mark, peaking at 33.03 to the dollar to make it the strongest in a decade. The baht then fell back to 33.09 after the Bank of Thailand intervened to weaken it slightly.

Exporters continued to dump the greenback despite the US government’s response to the ailing sub-prime lending crisis.

The US government’s rescue package would include between US$145-150 billion to ease the sub-prime mortgage woes, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to fall on Friday.

Without the intervention of the Thai central bank on the baht movement, it would certainly have breached the 33 mark by now, which would hit Thai exporters and US tourists further.

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