US president-elect Donald Trump is sending funds flowing out of Thailand in the short-term but it will not affect the country's economic outlook, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Wednesday.
Fiscal Policy Office director-general Warotai Kosolpisitkul, expected foreign funds to flee the country to safe assets after the Republican candidate won the US presidential election over Democrat rival Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.
Investors dumped the US dollar and went to gold and the Swiss Franc as a safe heaven and that would make the baht weaker against the greenback, he added.
Mr Warotai remained confident about the ability of the country to absorb volatility due to high foreign reserves and solid economic fundamentals. The long-term economic prospect will be unchanged for Thailand, he added.
The victory of Mr Trump was a "risk factor" for the global economy as investors will put on hold investments due to uncertainty over his economic policies, he said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand lost as much as 1.6% during the day after Mr Trump led the vote count and pared losses by closing 0.03% lower.
Thai stocks were in line with other Southeast Asian peers which closed lower, with Philippine shares dipping to its lowest since May 10, when Rodrigo Duterte was elected president.
Europe followed suite, tipping 2% lower in Frankfurt, London and Paris, but the British market rebounded briefly into slender gains after Mr Trump's conciliatory acceptance speech.
"We have seen the market reaction be nowhere near as bad as it might have been -- we could yet see a big pullback," said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson.
"Just like Brexit the longer term implications of this vote are much harder to discern and forcing investors to take stock."
"For now markets look like they are in limbo, maybe waiting for the US open for direction," he told AFP.
The Gold Traders Association adjusted the gold prices 19 times as of 3.26pm on Wednesday.
The buying prices were set at 21,011.76 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 21,400 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.
The selling prices were at 22,000 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 21,500 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.
It rose around 200 baht from Tuesday's close and was in line with the global trend.
