The Bank of Thailand (BoT) said on Wednesday it was closely monitoring capital movements and the baht currency and was ready to take action on any excessive volatility.
The weakening and fluctuation of the baht were driven by expectations the US Federal Reserve would accelerate policy tightening, and concerns over a global economic slowdown, said Daranee Saeju, senior director at the BoT, in a text message to media.
Such factors have pushed up the dollar to its strongest level in nearly 20 years, resulting in a steady weakness in regional currencies and the baht, she said.
The baht has weakened by 4.5% against the greenback so far this year, compared with a fall of 3% to 7% in other regional currencies, she said.
The baht closed at 35.01 per dollar on Wednesday, hitting its weakest level in more than five years.
Foreign investors, however, have remained net buyers of Thai assets worth about 150 billion baht so far this year, 130 billion baht in shares and 20 billion baht in bonds, Ms Daranee said.
