Thailand was not among the countries added to the United States' list of countries to be monitored due to potential currency manipulation. The Asian country is pleased with the news but it also vowed to keep its guard up against slipping from the criteria.
According to the Bangkok Post, Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob reiterated that the country should remain wary of the U.S. Treasury's stricter foreign exchange standards.
"Thailand was not included on the list, reflecting that we do not have a policy of currency intervention to gain a trade advantage," Veerathai noted. However, he urged financial markets to remain true to the country's exclusion from the monitoring list.
It is worth noting that the U.S. Treasury's semi-annual foreign exchange report did not label any country as a trade manipulator but it listed nine nations as under observation due to potential one-sided currency intervention.
Switzerland and India made it out of the list but Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Ireland, and Italy were the new additions to join South Korea, China, Germany, and Japan. The said countries will not face any sort of punishments but trade sanctions could be imposed if proven that they are trying to gain a trade advantage over the United States.
So far, Thailand is doing well against the U.S. Treasury's currency manipulation criteria. The Asian nation posted $12.9 billion in trade surplus with the world's largest economy last year.
Economists are confident that Thailand will stay out of the monitoring list if it continues to stick with its current trade strategies and initiatives to boost the Thai Baht. The country's currency is currently recognized as the best performer in all of Asia.
Veerathai confirmed that the Bank of Thailand will continue to work on both protecting and empowering the Baht while ensuring that the currency is not impacted heavily by the trade war between China and the U.S.
Multiple local outlets reported on Wednesday that the Thailand Baht gained 0.3 percent against the U.S. dollar. The development allowed for the currency to become the only gaining currency among developing nations for the entire month of May.
Experts said the Baht was driven primarily by net foreign inflows. It is further expected that Thailand will most likely gain bigger in the MSCI Emerging Markets index due to the influx of foreign net buyers.
Mizuho Bank Ltd. Currency Trader, Yasuhiro Nakamura, noted that the Thailand Baht has done well despite political uncertainties before the new government was established. Easing concerns allowed for the currency to stabilize, he suggested.
