Is the Thai Baht falling in value?

Yes. And no. Depends on which currency you want to compare it to.

Against the mighty USD, absolutely yes. In February this year, the USD was valued at 32.12 baht to the dollar. Now it’s 36.48 baht to the dollar. Good news if you’ve got USD and heading to Thailand.

GRAPHIC: xe.com

But the story isn’t the same against many of the other world currencies. The USD has surged against almost every currency over the past 6 months, seen as a flight to the ‘trusted’ greenback as financial, stock, and cryptocurrency markets crashed in a worldwide slow motion train wreck since the end of last year.

Against the Euro, the THB has strengthened, from 39.28 baht to the Euro (its highest value over the past year), to 36.53 as of today. Much the same situation with the British Pound. The GBP has fallen from 46.41 baht to the Pound, at its highest over the past 12 months, to 43.19 baht now.

The Australian dollar has had a slight rise, from 23.08 AUD to the THB at its lowest in the past 12 months, to 24.67 baht to the Oz dollar today. Same with the Canadian dollar (CAD) which has gone from 25.21 baht to 28.02 baht to the Canadian dollar today.

The Singapore Dollar (SGD) has also risen nearly 10% against the Thai baht since its lowest point in the past 12 months. Whilst the Japanese Yen has gone the other way, dropping nearly 20% against the Thai baht.

But the Governor of the 100% state-owned Bank of Thailand, Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, says he is not overly concerned about the Thai baht’s current performance, noting that the ‘fundamentals’ of the baht and the Thai economy, generally, were in “good condition” and any similarities to the 1997 financial collapse are completely misinterpreted.

So, if you’re a US citizen, visiting Thailand at this time, you are going to get record exchange rates, at least over the past 25 years. Whilst, if you’re from the UK or Europe, you are getting around 10% less baht compared to the high spot for your currency over the past 12 months.

GRAPHIC: x-rates.com

SOURCE: xe.com