Baht eases back from high

       The baht fell yesterday from a 14-month high on concern that a US government report will show the jobless rate climbed to a 26-year high, dampening the outlook for US consumer spending and Asian exports.
       The currency dropped for a second day as the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional shares lost 2.1% following a private industry report yesterday showing US manufacturing unexpectedly declined. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against currencies of six major trading partners, rose to a threeweek high as investors sought relative safety on doubts about the pace of a global recovery.
       "We've seen some unwinding of riskier assets and dollar short-covering," said Chutima Nuphan, a foreign-exchange trader at TMB Bank in Bangkok."The market is concerned about a recovery because the jobless rate may be worse than people think. The stock markets are falling as well."
       The baht fell 0.1% to 33.49 per dollar late yesterday in Bangkok. The currency reached 33.38 on Thursday, the highest level since July 2008. It completed a fourth weekly gain, rising 0.2%.
       The Bank of Thailand would stem volatility in the baht and aimed to keep its movements in line with other currencies in the region, governor Tarisa Watanagase said last week. Policymakers have no plans to implement measures to control capital flows, she said.
       Overseas investors had bought $136 million more Thai equities than they sold this week as of yesterday, taking net purchases for the year to $1.7 billion.