Baht weakens as markets go into risk-off mode due to virus fears

The Thai currency is likely to move between 30.05 and 30.25 on Tuesday, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.

On Monday night, the market was in risk-off state. The S&P 500 and Stoxx 600 indices dropped by 0.4 and 2.3 per cent, due to lockdowns in several countries.

This situation also pulled the WTI crude oil price down by 2.7 per cent, while the VIX index rose to 25 points.

In the financial markets, the pound weakened by 0.9 per cent, from a news of a mutated coronavirus in the UK.

At the same time, the dollar recovered by 0.1 per cent, compared to other main currencies, while the Ten-Year Treasury yield decreased by 1 basis point to 0.94 per cent.

In Thailand, the baht weakened rapidly in the short term due to the risk-off situation. However, the selling power of foreign investors this time was not much in the market.