BANGKOK, March 25 (TNA) – The Bank of Thailand maintains
the policy rate at 0.75 percent as a senior director projected the country’s
economy to contract 5.3 percent as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a meeting of the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) on Wednesday, members voted 4 to 2 to keep the policy interest
rate unchanged.
Titanun Mallikamas, MPC Secretary, said the Committee viewed
that the Covid-19 crisis would have severe negative impacts on the economy and
expressed its full support for the government in implementing measures.
The MPC members agreed that the coronavirus would affect
tourism, merchandise exports, supply chain and business and household incomes,
he said.
Don Nakornthab, Senior Director, Macroeconomic and Monetary
Policy Department, said the MPC forecast the Thai economy to contract 5.3
percent this year before positive growth of 3 percent in 2021. (TNA)
