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Currency That Gave Birth to Asian Crisis Emerges as Safest Bet

  • Baht steady in August even as most Asian currencies slid
  • Nation has record reserves and a current-account surplus
Baht Outperforms Regional Peers
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
Updated on

The currency that was at the epicenter of the 1997 Asian financial crisis is emerging as the region’s safest bet.

The Thai baht has remained little changed during this month’s trade war turbulence, while peers such as the rupee and the won have weakened almost 3%. And strategists say the currency isn’t likely to lose its newfound status as a haven anytime soon, thanks to Thailand’s rising current-account surplus and record foreign reserves.