Economics
Thailand Holds Rate at Record Low, Spotlight on Fiscal Steps
- Central bank raises 2020 economic forecast, cuts next year’s
- Assistant governor calls for more targeted fiscal policies
Veerathai Santiprabhob
Photographer: Luke Duggleby/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Bank of Thailand held its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting to save its limited policy space, allowing fiscal policy to take the lead in reviving an economy headed for its worst annual performance ever.
The central bank kept the policy rate unchanged Wednesday at 0.5% in a unanimous decision, after lowering rates three times earlier this year. All 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted the hold.