Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput‘s press conference could be particularly interesting should he respond to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin‘s latest call on Tuesday for rates to be cut to revive economic growth.
Thavisin, who is also the finance minister, has been at loggerheads with the central bank over the direction of monetary policy, arguing the economy needed support and warning that the country risks facing deflation.
All 27 economists in a Reuters poll expect the BOT to keep its benchmark one-day repurchase rate unchanged at 2.50%, and 18 of 25 respondents predict no change this year. Rates markets pricing points to 40 basis points of cuts by year-end.
Foreign exchange reserves rarely have an immediate impact on financial markets, but many investors will be paying close attention to the latest snapshot of China’s on Tuesday.
China’s $3.238 trillion stash of FX reserves, the world’s largest, are the highest in a year. The share of that held in U.S. Treasuries, however, is falling – it is now less than 3%, down from a record 14% in 2011.
These calculations are based on China’s official reserves. Some analysts reckon the true total could be closer to $4 trillion once the holdings of state banks and off-shore entities are taken into account.
