Baht is expected to remain weak next week

BANGKOK, Oct 4 (TNA) - The Thai baht is projected to remain weak during next week after it slipped to 32.50 baht a dollar on Friday, the weakest in the past three months, according to a report issued by Kasikorn Research Centre. The Centre has projected that the baht is expected to move between 32.35 – 32.65 baht per dollar next week as traders cautiously watch dollar movements early in the week while they have acknowledged U.S. employment data. A report issued by the U.S. Labour Department on Friday said U.S. jobless rate declined to a six-year low of 5.9 per cent in September and employers hired more workers than projected. The unemployment rate fell to the lowest level since July 2008 from 6.1 per cent. Traders are also closely monitoring the U.S. Federal Reserve and the number of those unemployed applying for weekly welfare so that they could assess the directions of U.S. interest rate, according to the Centre report. The baht remained weak throughout this week due to buying of dollar before the end of the third quarter and on concern of the ongoing unrest situation in Hong Kong which has already depressed Asian currencies, it said. Also, the baht was weak in line with net selling in the bond market and Thai equities by foreign investors while the greenback became strong late in the week as investors adjusted their positions, the Centre added. (TNA)