BANGKOK, May 5 (Bloomberg): Thailand’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for an eighth straight meeting, warning its forecast for an economic recovery was threatened by the country’s biggest virus wave since the pandemic began.
The Bank of Thailand held the policy rate Wednesday at 0.5% in a unanimous decision, as expected by all 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Thailand’s total Covid-19 caseload has more than doubled since early April, with a flareup that began in Bangkok nightlife venues spreading nationwide. The government tightened restrictions starting May 1, potentially slowing a rebound from the economy’s deepest contraction in more than two decades.