THE policy torpor in Bangkok is over. After sitting out interest-rate cuts and growth warnings that have swept both the developed world and emerging markets for most of the year, Thai authorities are getting anxious. If this unlikely haven, which lit the fuse of the Asian crisis two decades ago, is now fretting, everyone should be concerned.
This month’s unexpected rate cut by the Bank of Thailand jolted observers who had become used to Thai policymakers not being much inclined to touch borrowing costs. The step was the exclamation point on a trio of surprise reductions across Asia on Aug 7.