BoT can’t afford to hold interest rates
Like all countries in the world, the Bank of Thailand (and Monetary Policy Committee, or MPC) believes they can run monetary policy independently based on local economic conditions.
That belief is hard to fathom in today’s liquid international capital market where money can move from one country to another in a matter of seconds. The real price to pay for not following international interest rate trends is not currency depreciation but a domestic liquidity drain as capital outflows take domestic liquidity with it. And that is a price that Thailand cannot afford.
Bangkok Post Reporter
