The Pound Sterling to Thai Baht (GBP/THB) exchange rate advanced by around 0.68% on Tuesday afternoon.
In response to mostly positive results from domestic data publications, the British asset strengthened versus many of its currency peers. Of particular note were Mortgage Approvals which rose to the highest level in over a year, and the Construction PMI which bettered estimates.
Mortgage Approvals in April came in at 68,100 which signalled the biggest monthly rise since 2009. Martin Stewart, a director of mortgage broker London Money, said; ‘Looking at the sharp spike in mortgage approvals in April, it seems many people weren’t sitting on their hands in the run-up to the general election, after all. More people remortgaged in April than in previous months, too, and why wouldn’t they, with rates at all-time, almost obscene, lows?’
A separate report from Markit showed the UK Construction PMI bettered the median market forecast of a rise from 54.2 to 55.o in May, with the actual result reaching 55.9. Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit, said; ‘May’s survey provides the first sign of a postelection bounce in the UK construction sector. With a sustained period of policy uncertainty no longer on the horizon, business confidence surged back to its highest level since early-2006.’
The Pound Sterling to Thai Baht (GBP/THB) exchange rate is currently trending in the region of 51.4940.
The Thai Baht, meanwhile, softened versus many of its closest rivals after consumer prices dropped more than traders had priced-in. This marks the fifth consecutive month of deflation which is consistent with the timing for lower oil prices. Officials from Thailand’s central bank have attributed the long period of defilation to low energy prices, a theory supported by the core inflation measure which rose in May, albeit not as much as the market consensus.
‘The persistent year-on-year drop in Thailand's CPI, coupled with the recent weakness of Thai economic data, suggests that there is scope for Thailand's monetary policy committee to lower interest rates further,’ said Teppei Ino, analyst for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Singapore.
Another headwind weighing on the Thai Baht is the relatively strong position of the US Dollar. As demand for the ‘Buck’ (USD) increases, emerging market currencies usually decline.
The Pound Sterling to Thai Baht (GBP/THB) exchange rate was trending within the range of 51.1580 – 51.6040.
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