(Photo: Bloomberg)The Bank of Thailand left its key interest rate unchanged for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected, despite repeated calls by the government to lower borrowing costs to help revive the economy. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-1 to hold the one-day repurchase rate at 2.50%, the highest in more than a decade. At the last meeting on April 10, the vote was 5-2 in favour of leaving the rate unchanged. All but three of 27 economists in a Reuters poll had expected no change in the benchmark rate this week. The Bank of Thailand has maintained that lower interest rates will do little to improve an economy that needs deep structural reforms.
