The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to stand pat on its 1.5% policy interest rate tomorrow, say economists.
It has limited policy space to manoeuvre despite the divergence of monetary policy among major central banks after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly adopted negative interest rates.
The MPC has been holding the benchmark rate after making two successive rate cuts of 25 basis points last year to safeguard against downside risks derailing Thailand's economic recovery.
"With the policy rate near a record low and the baht exchange rate more or less in line with trading partners' trend, the Bank of Thailand appears satisfied with the current monetary setting, according to the minutes of the last meeting of the MPC," said Nalin Chutchotitham, HSBC's Thailand economist.
She said central bank governor Veerathai Santiprabhob appeared to prefer holding the current rate because he sees fiscal policy as a tool for reviving the economy.
The central bank is overly concerned about disinflationary pressures because core inflation and inflation expectations have remained close to their historical averages while aggregate demand continues to grow, Ms Nalin said.
"But the Bank of Thailand is increasingly concerned that volatility in the financial markets may rise due to the monetary policy divergence among major economies, and it wants to put greater emphasis on its role in safeguarding economic stability rather than on short-term demand management," she said. "Furthermore, reduced policy transmission has also been a concern, as domestic lenders have not lowered interest rates as much as the reduction in the policy rate due to concerns about higher credit risks and non-performing loans."
Ms Nalin said further rate cuts cannot be ruled out but only if these scenarios arise: a sustained sharp contraction of exports and manufacturing output on the back of a global economic slowdown, political turmoil with subsequent sharp declines in private sector confidence and spending, or core inflation falls below the old inflation target's lower band at 0.5% for a sustained period.
Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch) expects the MPC will keep the interest rate unchanged because risks associated with capital flows could heighten if the People's Bank of China further devalues the People's Bank of China further devalues the yuan.
Uncertainty surrounding the US Federal Reserve's timing of another rate hike could cause the baht's value to appreciate against the greenback, but this could be a temporary development and it is too soon to conclude the baht's appreciation would pressure the MPC to make a rate cut to support export value, it said.
A rate cut would stimulate foreign investors to allocate their assets into US-dollar-based holdings even more while heightening risks to financial stability, KResearch said.
TMB Analytics believes the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate for commercial banks' deposits could benefit Thai exports, as the move is equivalent to a liquidity injection to promote private investment, which would help the Japanese economy to improve and increase imports.