Thailand Prepares For New Curbs As Omicron Spreads

The baht retreated Thursday, posting its largest decline against the greenback in more than a month, as the spread of the Omicron variant prompted officials to raise the Covid-19 alert to 4, the second-highest level.

• PM Prayuth chairs a meeting of Thailand's Covid-19 task force (CCSA) this morning to discuss imposing fresh restrictions after the nation's alert level was revised up one notch.
• The Bangkok Post reported that the Public Health Ministry has asked the CCSA to review outbreak zoning and sign off on a targeted ban on alcohol consumption as well as tightened quarantine settings.
• The outbreak of the Omicron coronavirus variant has stoked concerns about recovery prospects for Thailand's critically important tourism industry. The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) warned that prolonged travel restrictions could inflict damage on tourism confidence over the long run.
• Spot USD/THB re-opened slightly higher today. It last operates +0.073 at THB33.577, with bulls looking for a break above Dec 22 high of THB33.835 before targeting Oct 6/Dec 3 highs of THB33.990. Bears look for losses past Jan 5 low of THB33.160.
• Note that the BoT will release data on FX reserves today. Next week, focus will move to monthly consumer confidence, due Thursday.