July 14, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1428

BANGKOK, July 13: Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Friday vowed to tackle the volatile baht, which hit 10-year highs against the dollar, but downplayed its impact on the economy.

“The government will try to stabilise the baht so as not to allow it to fluctuate to the unacceptable level,” Surayud told reporters without elaborating further.

Driven by massive capital inflows, the baht has continued to hit fresh 10-year highs against the dollar, raising concern over weak profits among Thai exporters. Exports are the key driver of the Thai economy.

The strong baht makes Thai exports less competitive abroad and cuts the value of firms' repatriated profits. The baht was traded at 33.26-28 to the greenback in afternoon trade on Friday.

Despite worries over sluggish exports, Surayud said the baht's rise would not cause large impact on the economy.

“It will not affect” the economy, he said when asked about the soaring currency's impact on the economy.

Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn warned that volatility in the baht would continue, but stopped short of announcing new measures to halt the unit's rise.

“We are ready to take action with measures we already have,” Chalongphob said, adding capital inflows worth $600 million poured into the country's financial market over the past week.

The central bank in December imposed capital controls in a bid to rein in the rising baht, triggering the biggest one-day drop in the stock market. The debacle later forced the government to ease some of the currency rules.—AFP