The baht opened at 29.92 to the US dollar on Wednesday morning, strengthening from Tuesday’s close of 29.95.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.85 and 30 on Wednesday, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
Poon said the baht would strengthen when the dollar weakens. Importers tend to purchase the dollar when the baht goes past 30 to the US currency.
Investors are concerned that an increased inflation rate – caused by US stimulus policies and the Federal Reserve’s relaxed polices – will affect financial markets, especially stock valuations.
This concern has led to a slight decrease in the market. The S&P 500 and Stoxx 50 indexes dropped 0.11 per cent and 0.12 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, a fluctuation in risk assets reduced the value of the US Ten-Year Treasury yield by 2 basis points to 1.16 per cent.
At the same time, the dollar continued to weaken, compared to other main currencies. The dollar index decreased to 90.4 points while the euro strengthened to $1.21.
Police are set to deploy seven companies comprising 1,085 officers at MBK Skywalk over Pathumwan Intersection on Wednesday to handle the protest rally planned by the Ratsadon pro-democracy group from 5pm, Deputy Metropolitan Police chief Pol Maj-General Piya Tawichai said.
“Three of the companies will deal with crowd control, while the other four will come from Metropolitan Police divisions 5 and 6,” he announced.
“The main mission of the officers is to ensure public safety and prevent the situation from escalating. Initially only one or two companies of crowd-control police will be deployed, while additional companies will stand ready in case the situation escalates,” Piya said.
He added that public gathering is currently prohibited under the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations, which has been in effect to prevent Covid-19 from spreading further.
Ratsadon planned the rally for Wednesday after the Criminal Court on Tuesday denied bail to four of its leaders – Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, Arnon Nampa, Somyos Prueksakasemsuk and Patiwat “Bank” Saraiyam – who have been charged with lese majeste and sedition because of their participation in anti-establishment rallies last year.
A group of Ratsadon protesters gathered at MBK Skywalk on Tuesday evening, urging the court to release the leaders, before peacefully dispersing at around 8pm.
Upper Thailand, including the Northeast, is seeing a 4-6 degrees Celsius drop in temperature, while other regions are experiencing a temperature decrease of 2-4 degrees, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday as a moderate high pressure system from China covers the upper reaches and a westerly trough sweeps past these areas.
The department also mentioned that the northeast monsoon prevails over the Gulf and the South, leading to isolated rain in the South.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Cool to cold weather; temperature lows of 10-19 degrees and highs of 27-32 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 3-10 degrees.
Northeast: Cool to cold weather; temperature lows of 13-18 degrees and highs of 26-32 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 8-15 degrees.
Central: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 19-22 degrees, highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius.
East: Cool weather in the morning with thundershower in 20 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 21-23 degrees, highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.
South (east coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 21-24 degrees, highs of 29-32 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool weather in the morning with thundershower in 10 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 22-23 degrees, highs of 31-32 degrees Celsius.
The Bitcoin is expected to become popular among investors now that Tesla has bought US$1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, an investment expert said on Tuesday.
According to the Washington Post, the digital currency jumped by as much as 15 per cent to more than $44,000 for the first time after Tesla announced its investment.
Tesla has also said it will begin accepting the digital token as a form of payment for its electric cars.
Noppavee Bukkamana, founder of Creative Investment Space (CIS), which provides knowledge on new investment, said the Bitcoin was accepted by several companies, such as Microstrategy, Square and Paypal.
He added that institutional investments in Bitcoin will help reduce its volatility because they usually invest for the long term.
“Research from Ark Investment, a global asset manager, shows that the price of Bitcoin will rise up to $40,000 if S&P500-listed firms allocate 1 per cent of their reserve capital on investing in this currency,” he said.
“The Bitcoin will rise to $200,000 if institutional investors, such as pension funds, insurance companies and national wealth funds invest 2.5 per cent in the cryptocurrency.”
He said the Bitcoin is being boosted because institutional investors are paying more interest to it than gold, which is being pressured by central banks due to the strengthening dollar.
“The supply of the Bitcoin is likely to drop quickly, now that large investors are showing interest in it,” he said.
He added that the price of the Bitcoin is likely to move in the positive territory, giving the cryptocurrency’s support and resistance lines at $42,000 and $48,000, respectively.
“However, we advise investors to purchase the Bitcoin when it is cheap and those interested in long-term investment can buy the cryptocurrency using the dollar-cost averaging method,” he added.
Three separate accidents closed a notorious section of highway 304 from Chachoengsao to Kabin Buri on Tuesday morning, as unseasonal rain left the road surface slippery.
The accidents occurred in Muang Chachoengsao, on the 5-kilometre stretch from 11th Infantry Division base intersection.
After a sudden downpour at 7.40am, a pickup truck skidded into a ditch under the railway bridge in front of Thadrat Charoen Maneerit Temple, while 1.5km away a six-wheeler also careered into the ditch. No injuries were reported.
However, the slippery surface had another surprise in store for drivers, when an empty school bus slammed on the brakes after losing control between Muang Chachoengsao and Bang Khla. Drivers behind were unable to stop in time, causing a mass pile-up of 15 vehicles including a 10-wheeler, 6-wheeler truck, pick-up trucks and passenger cars. Two people were injured – driver and passenger in a pick-up.
Traffic police said many accidents had occurred on this section of the road, especially following heavy rain. Relevant officials had been informed about the slippery road, but no solution or maintenance plan had been offered.
The road was reopened at around 10am after the wreckage had been cleared.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,518.27 on Tuesday, up 1.84 points or 0.12 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt92.88 billion with an index high of 1,529.49 and a low of 1,516.50.
In the morning session, a Krungsri Securities analyst expected the day’s index to rise to between 1,525 and 1,530 points on hopes of economic recovery spurred by expected rollout of US stimulus and Covid-19 inoculation.
He said Thai energy and petrochemical shares were also buoyed by the rising oil price.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were PTT, KBANK, BBL, GPSC, BANPU, EA, SCGP, PTTEP, KTC and PTTGC.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.11 or 0.19 per cent to $58.08 per barrel, while gold rose by $12.20 or 0.67 per cent to $1,846.40 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,505.93, up 117.43 points or 0.40 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,603.49, up 71.04 points or 2.01 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 15,630.56, up 360.94 points or 2.36 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 29,476.19, up 156.72 points or 0.53 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed at 3,084.67, down 6.57 points or 0.21 per cent.
Pro-active testing among factory workers in six Bangkok districts has revealed no positive cases for the past five days, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said on Tuesday.
The BMA has since January 28 tested 13,590 people from 127 factories in the districts of Phasi Charoen, Bang Khae, Nong Khaem, Bang Bon, Chom Thong and Bang Khuntien. So far, only 54 patients have been found, which sets the infection rate for the six districts at just 0.4 per cent.
Despite the good results, everybody is encouraged to maintain good hygiene practices, including wiping clean frequently touched areas, wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowds.
The National Vaccine Committee on Monday reported progress in procuring doses from three companies – Sinovac, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand would first receive 2 million doses from China’s Sinovac, with 200,000 doses arriving in February, 800,000 in March and 1 million in April. He added the ministry will talk with employers and the Labour Ministry regarding expenses for vaccination of foreign workers.
Meanwhile, talks are due today with Russian authorities to procure the Sputnik V vaccine for Thailand.
Thai authorities also spoke with Johnson & Johnson last week, but no contract for its single-jab vaccine was agreed. The Health Ministry is concerned over the large number of doses in the proposed deal and their arrival at the end of the third quarter, which may overlap AstraZeneca shipments.
However, Thai officials want more vaccines registered with the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so private hospitals can meet demand.
China registered the Sinovac vaccine last week, meaning the Thai FDA should be able to register it soon, the ministry said.
The National Vaccine Committee also approved a two-phase strategy for Thailand’s vaccination programme.
In the first phase, 2 million Sinovac jabs will be given over 2-3 months to control the outbreak. The target group are medics, disease-control workers, people with underlying diseases, people over 60 years old, and industrial workers in red zones such as Samut Sakhon and areas of Bangkok, Tak and Chon Buri.
In the second phase, 61 million AstraZeneca jabs will cover seven groups: the general public, industrial workers, tourism personnel such as workers in hotels and entertainment venues, tour guides, pilots and crew, diplomats and international officials, and other types medical and public health personnel.
This phase will be completed in four months, accelerating from 5 million injections per month to 10 million per month.
National Vaccine Institute director Dr Nakhon Premsri revealed that 26 million doses of locally-made AstraZeneca vaccine should be available on schedule in June. However, the first shipment of 50,000 doses had been delayed and may not arrive in February, as scheduled. World vaccine production was currently insufficient to meet demand, he added.
The committee is also considering the Novavax vaccine to boost Thailand’s supply of doses.
Cabinet okays Bt32.6bn subsidy for rice, oil palm farmers
NationalFeb 09. 2021Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit
By The Nation
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved over Bt32.6 billion in subsidies for rice and oil palm farmers.
Each rice farming household will be granted Bt500 per rai, capped at 20 rai. The subsidy will cover 4.6 million families at a cost of Bt28 billion, according to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, whose ministry proposed the subsidies.
He added that each oil palm farming household will be granted Bt4 per kilogram, capped at 25 rai, in a subsidy scheme worth Bt4.61 billion.
Farmers can check their payment status at the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives website: https://chongkho.inbaac.com/.
Saltwater intrusion in the Chao Phraya will increase the level of sodium in tap water for at least six days from Wednesday, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) said on Tuesday.
Komkrit Dinakara Na Ayudhya, MWA’s deputy governor, said the agency is cooperating with the Royal Irrigation Department and Bangkok Drainage and Sewerage Department to prevent saltwater from entering the Sam Lae Raw Water Pumping Station.
He said people with kidney or heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, as well as the elderly, young children and small pets should avoid drinking tap water. He also said that boiling tap water will not help, because the salt will become even more concentrated.
“People can bring bottles to collect drinkable water at the nearest MWA branch office,” he said.
The quality of water can be followed via the MWA website https://twqonline.mwa.co.th/, through @MWAthailand on Facebook, Line, Twitter and Instagram or via the MWA smartphone application.
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit
