Thai central bank chief says worried about strong baht, fund inflows

[BANGKOK] Thailand's central bank is still worried about a strong baht and short-term capital inflows, the governor said on Monday, as the currency hovered near more than 22-month highs against the dollar.

The central bank is ready to act on any excessive moves in the baht, Veerathai Santiprabhob told a seminar.

"If there are large fund inflows, and causing high volatility in the baht, it's the central bank's duty to act on it with instruments available," he said.

He said the reason the baht's gains had been larger than other currencies over the past week is because of analysts'interpretation of the monetary policy committee's May 24 statement that the central bank is unconcerned about the baht's strength, which he said was wrong.

"We are still worried about the baht's strength and short-term fund inflows parking in Thailand," he said.

The baht traded at 34.12 per US dollar on Monday, having hit a more than 22 month highs of 34.04 on Friday.

REUTERS