BANGKOK, Thailand – Kasikornbank (KBANK) expects the baht to trade within a range of 33.00–33.80 per US dollar from October 19–23, after closing at 33.50 on Thursday, October 15. The bank said the baht and other Asian currencies weakened early in the previous week amid rising tensions between Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia, alongside an attack on an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz. The developments heightened concerns over global energy supplies and pushed oil prices higher, while cautious investor sentiment supported demand for the US dollar as a safe-haven currency.
However, the baht recovered and gradually strengthened during the remainder of the week. Support came from renewed net foreign buying in Thailand’s bond market and a strong rebound in global gold prices. For the coming week, investors will monitor developments in the Middle East, movements in global oil and gold prices, and foreign capital flows.
Key US economic releases include September housing starts and pending home sales, preliminary October purchasing managers’ index (PMI) readings, consumer confidence data for October and weekly jobless claims. Other indicators to watch include China’s third-quarter 2026 gross domestic product (GDP), September industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment, as well as its loan prime rate (LPR) announcement. Markets will also follow September inflation figures from the United Kingdom and Japan, alongside preliminary October PMI data for Japan, the UK and the eurozone.
