Finance & economics | One-way baht

For 15 years two currencies have outperformed all others

What accounts for the consistent strength of the baht and the shekel?

THE PAST decade and a half has seen boom and bust, inflation and deflation, globalisation and trade tensions. Through such economic and political cycles you might expect currencies to go in and out of fashion. In fact the two that have strengthened the most against the dollar over this period—Thailand’s baht and Israel’s shekel—have done so consistently. They have outshone other currencies over one, five and ten years, too. What explains their popularity?

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “One-way baht”

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