Dr. Santithar believes a weaker baht will boost exports and tourism, and suggests Thailand doesn't need to raise interest rates in line with the Fed.

Dr. Santithar believes a weaker baht enhances the competitiveness of exporters and supports tourism, while also pointing out that Thailand does not yet need to use interest rates to manage the currency fluctuations.

On September 15, 2026, at 10:38 AM, Bloomberg News reported that Dr. Santithar Sathienthai, Assistant Minister of Finance, stated that the recent weakening of the Thai baht is likely to support exports and tourism, two key drivers of the Thai economy.

The Thai baht has depreciated by approximately 8% since reaching a five-year high in January, amid a broader strengthening of the US dollar, as well as measures by Thai authorities to curb speculation in the gold market and the easing of regulations on capital outflows.

Dr. Santithar stated that although the baht has weakened, it has depreciated less than some other currencies. He views this partial depreciation as positive, as it enhances the competitiveness of exporters and supports the tourism sector.

The weaker baht enhances Thailand's attractiveness as a tourist destination while also improving the competitiveness of Thai exporters in global markets. The baht is one of the weakest performing Asian currencies this year, following the Philippine peso, the Indian rupee, and the Indonesian rupiah.

Dr. Santithar, who previously served as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) from 2566 to early 2569, stated that Thai policymakers have not set a target exchange rate level and, until now, there has been no need to use interest rate policy to respond to the baht's movements. This leaves the BOT with room to implement policy changes if necessary in the future.

Regarding the bond market, Dr. Santithar believes that the recent steepening of the Thai government bond yield curve is driven more by short-term bonds than by the rise in long-term bond yields.

Short-term bond yields are also influenced by the Bank of Thailand's (BOT) policy interest rate, which remained at 1% for the third consecutive meeting in August, as well as expectations that the BOT is unlikely to raise borrowing costs even if the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) raises interest rates.

Data compiled by Bloomberg indicates that the spread between the yield on 2-year and 10-year Thai government bonds widened to 106 basis points on Monday from 93 basis points a month earlier.

Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year Thai government bonds has risen 67 basis points since the beginning of the year, compared to the yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds which has increased by approximately 80 basis points and reached its highest level since 2566 on Monday.

Santithar stated that long-term Thai government bond yields have risen in line with global markets, but less so than in many other countries. This relative strength reflects Thailand's macroeconomic stability and its attractiveness to investors.

Reference: www.bloomberg.com

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