Thailand to Avoid Currency War as Ghost of 1997 Crisis Looms

Thailand’s Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the central bank should avoid fighting market forces to stem currency gains, heeding a lesson from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

“The shadow of 1997 is there,” Kittiratt said in an interview in Bangkok. “I will never encourage Bank of Thailand to go and trade against the market-determined rate unless it’s only part of the daily stability, the weekly stability.”