On July 1, at some point during the day, the baht fell to 35.66 to the dollar, its weakest in five years. It closed at 35.63 at the end of the trading session on the first day of this month, according to Kasikorn Research Center.

Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the baht has gone through four key cycles. To follow the bailout conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, Thailand, languishing in one of the worst economic crises in its history, on July 2, 1997, abandoned its fixed exchange rate policy of pegging the baht at 25 to a US dollar, as the central bank’s reserves were drained defending the currency against speculators. Once the Bank of Thailand (BOT) opted for the floating rate, the currency experienced a free fall. The baht plunged to a historic low of 56.50 per dollar on January 12, 1998.

Full story: thaipbsworld.com

By Thai PBS World