USD/THB Falls Slightly Despite Political Headwinds

USD/THB has moved lower as the THB edged higher ahead of the central bank's briefing next week to unveil additional measures to contain the currency, which has firmed more than 4.5% since October.

• Minutes from the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee had little effect on the pair, the committee said it was appropriate to consider the necessity of implementing additional policy measures for both the short and long term.
• The Thai MPC said it would consider the need for more appropriate FX measures as rapid gains in the domestic currency could affect the recovery.
• THB also got a boost from Thai November business sentiment index which rose to 47.7 from 45.4 in October. Flow data showed global investors bought a net $20.1m in local equities yesterday.
• Elsewhere the Thai constitutional court is set to rule today on whether Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha breached ethics clauses and should be ousted from his position. If found guilty Prayuth will be barred from holding office for two years and his cabinet will act as a caretaker government until parliament chooses a new PM and cabinet.
• The decision comes as the Thai PM is facing calls from a pro-democracy movement that his government should step down due to questions over how they came to power.