Bangkok, Thailand (BBN)- The baht dropped the most in two months as the army imposed martial law nationwide after months of political turmoil that hurt the economy and led to Yingluck Shinawatra being ousted as prime minister.
The baht weakened as much as 0.6 percent, the biggest intra-day loss since March 20, before trading 0.3 percent lower on the day at 32.56 per US dollar as of 8.45am in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Five-year credit- default swaps protecting the nation’s debt against non-payment climbed to a one-month high of 127 basis points yesterday in New York, CMA prices show, the Bangkok Post reported.
Martial law has been introduced to restore order and this is not a coup, Army Chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha said on local television, asking political groups to end protests that began in November and have led to violence that claimed 28 lives. Today’s move comes a day after government data showed gross domestic product unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter as demonstrations hurt production and tourism, according to the newspaper report.
On the other hand, Thai stocks opened down 1.52 percent at 10.09am on Tuesday.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) main index was at 1,389.22 points, down 21.41 points from Monday’s close. Trade value was 6.63 billion baht, with 4.12 billion shares changed hands.
The SET50 index opened at 943.61 points, down 15.65 points, or 1.63%, with total trade value of 4.23 billion baht.
The MAI index fell 8.16 points, or 1.96%, to 409.22 points, with total transaction value of 228.66 million baht.
BBN/SSR/AD-10:33 am (BST)
