5. The main reason for the rapid improvement in the country's foreign reserve
position is that the current account turned into substantial surplus starting in the last quarter of
1997 (table 2). Compared to the situation before the Baht float, the turnaround in the current
account generated an additional net foreign exchange inflow into the country of about two
billion US$ per month. This helped to offset continued capital outflow from repayment of
outstanding foreign debt. The current account continued to be in substantial surplus
throughout 1998, with the cumulated surplus totalling about US$ 14.3 billion. As the current
account surplus cumulated, the Baht began to strengthen from February 1998, and has been
fairly stable since November 1998 (table 3).