THB/USD: Thailand FM Sees Sustained Baht Gains on Tourism Boom

The baht is set to extend its rally as the Chinese reopening buoys the outlook for tourist arrivals, helping propel Thailand’s growth this year to the highest in five years, according to the nation’s Finance Ministry.

The Thai currency is forecast to average 32.50 to a US dollar this year, stronger than the 36.68 the ministry predicted in October, officials said at a briefing in Bangkok on Friday. The baht averaged 35.07 to a dollar last year and tumbled to a 16-year low before staging a sharp recovery with the dollar weakening and foreign tourist arrivals gathering momentum with the scrapping of pandemic-era travel curbs.