Published at 03:25 (GMT) 13 Aug
The Nation: Thai government is confident the number of foreign tourists to the Kingdom will rise beyond the 28.8-million target by the end of this year, said Maj-General Sansern Keawkamnerd, deputy spokesman of the Prime Minister's Office. Sansern said about 17.5 million tourists visited the country and spent about Bt818.439 billion from January until July 31. Hence the government believes more tourists will arrive and bring the total to between 29 million and 30 million, more than the Tourism and Sports Ministry's projection of 28.8 million. This means the country will earn between Bt1.6 trillion and Bt1.8 trillion - much more than the projected Bt1.4 trillion by the end of 2015, according to the Maj-General, boosting the already weak GDP growth for Thailand.
On FX, USD/THB slipped to trade sideways around 35.250 levels in the morning, off yesterday's 6-yr high of 35.520. Expect prices to remain trading around 35.250 levels supported at 35.070 while a push above yesterday's high is needed for bulls to regain control. JP
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