BANGKOK- Thai businesses are pressing the central bank to take measures to stabilize the baht currency, which has rapidly gained strength and could impact fourth-quarter growth, a senior chamber of commerce official said on Monday.

The baht has strengthened faster than anticipated and was affecting exports and tourism, deputy chairman Phot Aramwattananon told a press conference.

Both sectors are key drivers of the Thai economy, Southeast Asia’s second-largest, which has been struggling since the pandemic and lagging regional peers.

The impact of the baht strengthening has been immediate, already hitting competitiveness of exports, especially in agriculture and food product sectors, the chamber said in a statement.

The central bank should oversee the baht stability so that it was in line with global and domestic economic conditions, it added.

On Monday, the baht hovered around 32.8 to the US dollar, trading at its strongest level in more than 19 months. It has gained 13 percent  against the dollar since a low in April of 37.17.

An appropriate level was 34 baht to the greenback, said the chamber’s chair, Sanan Angubolkul, adding it was seeking a meeting with the central bank and finance ministry to discuss economic stimulus, interest rate reduction and debt resolution.

Thai household debt was $484 billion as of March this year, or 90.8 percent  of gross domestic product, among the highest ratios in Asia.

Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said on Friday the central bank was monitoring the baht, which he said has become stronger and more volatile, driven by a weaker dollar.

However, he said the baht’s strength had not impacted exports much, but the BOT wanted to ensure it was not overly volatile.

The chamber of commerce also adjusted its 2024 growth forecast upwards from 2.5 percent seen previously to a range of 2.6 percent  to 2.8 percent  due to policies of the new government to revive the economy.

Stimulus measures are expected to add 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points of growth, said Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce University.

Thailand’s economic expansion accelerated in the second quarter due to stronger consumption, tourism and exports, but analysts said policy uncertainty following a change in government clouds the outlook.

Gross domestic product grew 2.3 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) data showed, versus an upwardly revised 1.6 percent in the first quarter and beating 2.1 percent forecast in a Reuters poll.

Growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy was driven by improved government consumption, export of goods and services as well as private consumption, while public and private investments contracted, the state planning agency NESDC said in a statement.

On a quarterly basis, GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent in the second quarter, slower than an upwardly revised 1.2 percent expansion in the previous three months and 0.9 percent growth forecast in the poll.