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Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate amid signs that easing pandemic restrictions and reopening borders are helping stabilize the trade and tourism-reliant economy.
The Bank of Thailand’s rate setting committee on Wednesday unanimously decided to hold the key rate at a record low 0.5% for a 12th straight meeting, as expected by all 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
The move comes as the economy recovers from the hit last quarter by Covid-19’s delta-variant. Local economic activities have since picked up and consumer confidence soared over the past two months as Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s government eased restrictions and accelerated stimulus measures. The nation has also allowed quarantine-free entry to fully-vaccinated tourists from more than 60 nations.
The central bank’s policy setting committee said in a statement that its continued accommodative policy will support growth, that inflation is expected to remain within its target and that it stands ready to use more policy tools if necessary. It also sees the recovery subject to uncertainties and is monitoring the virus situation amid the reopening.
The baht was little changed after the rate announcement, holding gains of 0.1% against the dollar and poised for a fourth straight day of advances. The currency has gained 1.3% so far this month.
The pace of vaccinations has accelerated in recent months, with 61% of the population receiving at least one dose and almost half getting two, setting the government on pace to beat its target of inoculating 70% of residents by year-end. New infections dropped to 6,978 on Wednesday, compared with its peak of more than 20,000 cases in August.
Prayuth last month approved a slew of stimulus measures worth 92 billion baht ($2.8 billion) to reduce the cost of living, boost domestic consumption and support the economy. Covid-relief measures since last year have been financed by as much as 1.5 trillion baht borrowing packages.
The central bank last month also temporarily suspended home-mortgage lending limits to revive the sluggish property market as part of its strategy to use targeted measures to help the economy instead of cutting rates.
(Updates with comments from central bank in fourth paragraph.)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
