The price of gold rose by Bt50 per baht weight in morning trade on Tuesday after falling sharply by Bt200 per baht weight at close on Monday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.24am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,000 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,100, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt25,529.44 and Bt26,600, respectively.
At close on Monday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,950 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,050, while gold ornaments were Bt25,483.96 and Bt26,550, respectively.
Spot gold price moved to US$1,831 (Bt55,073) per ounce in the morning, while the Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in February next year dropped by $11.5 to $1,832.1 per ounce on Monday due to mass sell-offs of safe-haven assets amid positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine. Besides, the market is keeping an eye on US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting on Tuesday.
The Hong Kong gold price meanwhile dropped by HK$120 to $16,890 (Bt65,527) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
The baht opened at 30.09 to the US dollar on Tuesday, weakening from the previous close of 30.06.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.95 and 30.15, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.
On Monday night, the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.4 per cent due to mass sell-offs of cyclical shares, but the Stoxx 600 Index rose by 0.4 per cent on hopes of a fresh European Union economic stimulus package.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate oil price rose by 0.9 per cent from the Opec+ move to cut production capacity, while gold price dropped by 0.6 per cent to US$1,828 per ounce due to investors’ mass sell-offs to take profit.
In the financial market, the US Ten-year treasury yield dropped to 0.89 per cent due to lack of positive sentiments and the weakening dollar. The dollar fell to the weakest in two years due to uncertainty over the US states’ lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, while the pound sterling rose to its strongest from hopes of the United Kingdom and the European Union reaching a Brexit agreement by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the baht is expected to move in a narrow range until the end of this year because Asian currencies have begun to hit a new high, while the capital market has become less attractive after the stock market hit their highest levels amid the economic recovery.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Kamaron Leach, Yakob Peterseil
U.S. stocks fell for a fourth day as investors assessed the prospects for a federal spending package and the likelihood for further virus-related economic restrictions.
The S&P 500 Index capped its longest slide since September and is 1.4% below its Dec. 8 record. The Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 0.9%, led by drugmakers after Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to be bought by AstraZeneca Plc. Energy producers tumbled after OPEC cut its demand forecast. Oil was lower most of the day before reversing. The dollar extended its slump with Treasuries. Brazil’s Ibovespa Index erased losses for the year.
Optimism from the start of covid-19 shots gave way to concern over whether a relief bill from a bipartisan group of lawmakers would gain traction after its release later. The virus continued to rage in the U.S., threatening harsher restrictions across the nation. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, D, warned that people should be prepared for a full shutdown and start making plans to work remotely.The electoral college will officially elect Joe Biden president.
“Signs of market fatigue are more prevalent today than a month ago, even as the popular average is near all-time highs,” wrote Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment Management. “The much-awaited correction could come as investors tire of Washington, worry about the covid cases over the holidays, or some other concern that is likely to pass in a few months rather than dominate the news cycle the way covid has during the last nine.”
The head of the U.S. government’s vaccination drive said as much as 80% of the population could be given the shot by next summer, putting “herd immunity” within reach. Wall Street strategists are in broad agreement that vaccines will supercharge the economy next year.
“There is huge pent-up investment demand across the entire institutional world,” Michael Strobaek, global chief investment officer at Credit Suisse Group AG, told Bloomberg TV. “We’re steering into year-end with still tons of liquidity on the sidelines. I would not be on the wrong side of that.”
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4% as of 4 p.m. EST.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.6%.
The Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 0.7%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4%.
The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.1%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2%
The euro climbed 0.3% to $1.2142.
The Japanese yen was unchanged at 104.06 per dollar.
The British pound jumped 0.8% to $1.3323, the biggest increase in more than five weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.90%.
Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.62%, the biggest increase in almost two weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield jumped five basis points to 0.222%, the largest surge in five weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $46.99 a barrel, the biggest dip in almost two weeks.
Kulit Sombatsiri, the ministry’s permanent secretary
By The Nation
The Energy Ministry has kicked off the process of drawing up what it calls Thailand’s integrated energy blueprint on Monday by holding a workshop on the plan with relevant parties.
Kulit Sombatsiri, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said the plan is divided into a five-year short-term plan (2022-2027), a five to 10 year mid-term plan and a 20-year long-term plan.
The Cabinet had in October asked the ministry to put together five energy plans issued in 2018, namely power development, alternative energy development, energy conservation, gas management and oil plan.
The ministry will hold a public hearing on the combined plan after next March and started drawing up a preliminary strategy in April.
He added that the integrated plan will not raise the ratio of coal-fired power plants and will retire old gas and coal-power plants early.
Thailand will also set a target for net-zero carbon emissions, he added.
The Labour Ministry will ask the Cabinet on Tuesday to approve a reduction in workers’ and companies’ social security contributions from 5 per cent to 3 per cent of wages from January to March.
The reduction will cost Bt21 billion.
Social security contributions were cut to 2 per cent from September-November this year in a move to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister Suchart Chomklin described the latest proposal as a “New Year gift” to Thais.
Easy to tell if ‘coronation’ banknotes are genuine, says BOT
EconDec 14. 2020A sample of the Bt1,000 and Bt100 commemorative banknotes.
By The Nation
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has responded to criticism of its recently issued commemorative Bt1,000 and Bt100 banknotes, insisting they have high standard anti-counterfeiting features and are easy to tell apart.
BOT deputy governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan said the special banknotes issued to commemorate King Rama X’s coronation are safe thanks to advanced techniques used in their design.
The central bank issued the statement after netizens on social media complained of the similarity between the commemorative banknotes.
People could easily prove whether the notes were genuine, for example, by touching the raised figure indicating the note’s value at the corner, he said.
Meanwhile, the notes were easy to tell apart since the Bt1,000 version is 1.2 centimetres longer than the Bt100 bill. The number indicating their value is also prominently displayed, he added.
A total of 10 million Bt1,000 and 20 million Bt100 commemorative banknotes went into circulation on December 12.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,476.13 on Monday, down 6.54 points or 0.44 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt107.3 billion with an index high of 1,495.18 and a low of 1,471.56.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,470 and 1,500 amid an influx of foreign funds in response to positive news of Covid-19 vaccines.
“However, the SET will face volatility due to the tight valuation at a price-to-earnings ratio of 29 times and a resistance line at 1,500 points,” he said.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were CPALL, KBANK, ADVANC, AOT, PTT, BAM, DELTA, IRPC, STGT and PTTGC.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.47 or 1.01 per cent to $47.04 per barrel, while gold dropped by $14.90 or 0.81 per cent, to $1,828.70 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 26,732.44, up 79.92 points or 0.30 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,369.12, up 21.93 points or 0.66 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,692.13, up 136.99 points or 1.01 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 26,389.52, down 116.35 points or 0.44 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,762.20, down 7.86 points or 0.28 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 14,211.05, down 50.64 points or 0.36 per cent.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 6.77 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 1,489.44 in the morning session on Monday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,470 and 1,500 amid the influx of foreign funds in response to positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“However, the SET would face volatility due to tight valuation at price to earnings of 29 times and the resistance line at 1,500 points,” he said.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP, IVL and SPRC that benefit from rising oil price.
▪︎ MINT, CENTEL and AOT that benefit from positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine.
▪︎ Laggard shares in the SET 50 Index, such as EGCO, DTAC, KTB, TMB and SCB.
The SET Index closed at 1,482.67 on Wednesday, up 3.75 points or 0.25 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt123.39 billion with an index high of 1,503.89 and a low of 1,474.83.
The SET was closed on Thursday and Friday for Constitution Day.
The price of gold dropped by Bt50 per baht weight in the morning trade on Monday after rising Bt100 per baht weight at closing on Saturday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.28am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,100 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,200, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,635.56 and Bt26,700, respectively.
On Saturday’s close, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,150 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,250, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,681.04 and Bt26,750, respectively. The price dropped slightly by Bt50 per baht weight last week.
The spot gold price moved to US$1,836 (Bt55,233) per ounce in the morning, while the Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in February next year rose by $6.2 to $1,843.6 per ounce on Friday. All thanks to mass buy-ups of the precious metal amid uncertainty over the US rollout of economic stimulus package, no-deal Brexit and signs of dollar inflation.
In Hong Kong, gold rose by HK$30 to HK$16,970 (Bt65,862) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
The government co-payment scheme covering the salaries of new graduates is falling short of its target to generate 260,000 new jobs, said Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin.
The Cabinet has approved a budget of Bt20 billion to spur recruitment of new graduates by paying 50 per cent of their salaries for the first year.
However, only 20,000 new jobs were created under the scheme as of October, said Suchart.
The minister said he would evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme until April, when a fresh batch of new graduates will be seeking jobs. Depending on that evaluation, the scheme’s remaining budget might be transferred to help recruitment in the tourism industry, he added. The tourism sector is currently facing severe impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Suchart suggested the poor response to the scheme was due to major companies preferring to recruit people on long-term contracts during the economic recovery, rather than the year offered under the scheme.
And though the scheme seemed to fit the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs were not hiring workers at this time of economic downturn, he added.
A sample of the Bt1,000 and Bt100 commemorative banknotes. 
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin 
SootinClaimon.Com 