Baht Operates Near Multi-Week Highs, BoT Expected To Hike Key Rate Today

Spot USD/THB last deals at THB35.365, barely changed on the day. The pair has declined past its 50-DMA early this week and bears now set their sights on THB34.960, the low print of Jun 29. Bulls need a jump above Jul 21 high of THB36.945 to see a revival of topside momentum.

• The SET index advanced on Tuesday, with gains limited by the 100-DMA, which had capped an upswing into early Jun. Optimism about the outlook for the local tourism industry provided support to the space. Net foreign equity inflows remained elevated, albeit slipped off Monday's multi-week high of $125.97mn.
• Dep PM & ruling PPRP leader Prawit backed PM Prayuth in a dispute over the starting date of his eight-year term in office. Prawit said that the ruling party was ready to nominate Prayuth as its candidate for Prime Minister in the next general election, although he also refused to rule himself out.
• We expect the Bank of Thailand to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25bp today (click here to see our preview). There are just three dissenters calling for a 50bp rate hike in a Bloomberg survey of 27 analysts; the rest expect a 25bp move.
• Looking further afield, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce will publish consumer confidence data on Thursday.