Withai: Gold Trading Curbs Effective, Reducing Baht Impact; Ceiling Cut to 30 Million Baht
MacroDigital Finance
Withai Rattanakorn, Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), revealed that measures to restrict gold trading have reduced the influence of the gold market on the baht, and he is ready to tighten further if necessary. The current ceiling for online gold trading is 50 million baht per person per day, effective since March, and can be reduced to 30 million baht or lower. The correlation between gold and the baht fell to 0.3 in April, the lowest in four years, down from as high as 0.85 last year. The measures also include scrutiny of gold transactions to curb illegal money flows. After requiring reporting of physical gold withdrawals exceeding 2 kilograms, withdrawals dropped by about 70%. He also plans to tighten cash payments for gold purchases exceeding 10 million baht, as well as cash deposits or exchanges exceeding 5 million baht. Withai also supports the Finance Ministry's principle of taxing gold transactions, provided the rate does not burden compliant businesses or the general public.
