The Thai baht is tumbling.
The currency is down by 0.7% at 35.690 per dollar as of 11:32 a.m. ET.
Palace officials recently stated that Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s health is “not stable,” and that he was being prepped for haemodialysis, which is used to treat kidney failure. Analysts are starting to worry about what this might mean for the country.
“The failing health of the king adds another layer of uncertainty to an already highly unpredictable situation,” argued Capital Economics’ Krystal Tan and Gareth Leather in a note on Tuesday.
The situation “poses a key risk to the country’s economy. His death would plunge the country back into political crisis, which in turn could push the economy into recession.”
As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 11:29 a.m. ET:
- The British pound has had a bumpy day: it started up over 1% against the dollar, but collapsed around 8:30 a.m. ET as Brexit secretary David Davis spoke in front of parliament, dipping below $1.22. It is now up by just 0.6% at 1.2193 against the dollar. The Japanese yen tumbled by 0.9% to 104.44 per dollar, and is now at its weakest level since late July. The Russian ruble is down by 0.6% at 63.0632, while prices for Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, are down by 1.0% at $51.85 per barrel. The US dollar index is up by 0.3% at 98.00 after earlier the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover for August, which showed that the share of employees quitting thier jobs compared to total separations is back at post-recession highs. Separately, the September FOMC minutes will be out at 2 p.m. ET.