Bank of Thailand intervenes in foreign exchange market

The Bank of Thailand has intervened in the foreign exchange market, central bank governor Pridiyathorn Devakula said, but declined to say how much has been spent on halting the currency's appreciation.

He said the baht has been hovering around a six-year high because of a major influx of capital estimated at 11.5 billion USD since January.

'It's impossible for the Baht not to appreciate with support from that much capital inflow, but we have managed not to allow the baht to strengthen so much that it would jeopardize our economy. It will gradually increase,' he told reporters.

The strong baht makes Thai exports less competitive in overseas markets and lowers the value of companies' repatriated profits.

Exports are the driving force of the Thai economy as they account for 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

At midday, the baht traded at 37.59 to the dollar. The Baht has appreciated by more than 8 percent this year.

Pridiyathorn urged exporters to adjust their planning to cope with a strong Baht. Exporters have said they make business plans based on the Baht trading at 38-40 against the dollar.