Thai currency may be primed for further gains

Asia’s best performer: The Thai authorities have taken a number of steps in recent months to try and restrain the baht but with little success. —AFP

Singapore: The Thai baht has been the runaway success among Asian currencies this year – surging more than 6% while the US-China trade war has punished peers such as the South Korean won and Chinese yuan. There are two reasons why it may rise even more.

The Thai currency has proven to be the preferred Asian hedge against global trade frictions, sheltered by the country’s current-account surplus and record foreign reserves.