THAILAND’S Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA) on Thursday (Apr 4) said it expects the country’s central bank to cut rates twice this year starting from June and totalling 50 basis points (bps).

“Data shows a weak economy and low inflation therefore the view is that interest rates will come down earlier,” ThaiBMA president Somjin Sornpaisarn told a press conference, citing its survey of bond traders and fund managers.

The central bank has so far resisted government pressure to ease policy, holding the key interest rate at 2.50 per cent in February, the highest in more than a decade, in a split vote. Its next rate review is on Apr 10.

The bond association maintained its outlook expecting 900 billion baht (S$33 billion) to one trillion baht in corporate bond issuance this year.

South-east Asia’s second-largest economy unexpectedly shrank 0.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2023 from the third, with full-year growth at 1.9 per cent, lower than the 2.5 per cent growth in 2022.

Last month, the central bank lowered its 2024 growth outlook to 2.5 to 3 per cent from 3.2 per cent. REUTERS

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