Thailand keeps key rate unchanged as fiscal spending takes lead

Bangkok

THAILAND's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged for the fourth straight meeting as it waits to assess whether government stimulus spending will succeed in boosting weak local demand.

The Bank of Thailand held its one-day bond repurchase rate at 1.5 per cent, with monetary policy committee members voting unanimously in favour, it said in Bangkok on Wednesday. Some 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted the decision, while one forecast a quarter-of-a-percentage-point cut.