BANGKOK – The United States Treasury has added Thailand to its currency monitoring list but did not designate any major trading partner as a currency manipulator in its latest semi-annual foreign exchange report released Thursday.

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The report, which covers the second half of 2024 and the first six months of 2025, states that no economy met all three criteria for enhanced scrutiny under US currency manipulation guidelines. Thailand was added to the watchlist due to the growth of its global current account surplus and its trade surplus with the United States.

The Treasury’s monitoring list now includes 10 economies: Thailand, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland. The report emphasized a broader analytical approach, now also examining whether countries intervene to resist currency depreciation against the US dollar with the same intensity as they do to resist appreciation.

Bank of Thailand plays down US currency watchlist move https://t.co/1PzM8zdWzw #Thailand

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A Treasury official clarified that the policy shift was not aimed at any single country, but would aid analysis in future reports. The change comes amid a period of US dollar weakness and follows speculation over potential intervention to support the Japanese yen.

While not labeling any country a manipulator, the Treasury noted that China “stands out among our major trading partners in its lack of transparency around its exchange rate policies and practices.” It warned that a future designation could be made if evidence indicates Beijing is resisting yuan appreciation.

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The report also stated that going forward, the Treasury will assess whether capital controls, macroprudential measures, or activities of sovereign wealth funds and pension funds influence exchange rates in monitored economies.

-Thailand News (TN)