The Bank of Thailand was divided over whether or not to ease monetary policy in January in the face of growing political unrest, with the monetary policy committee (MPC) electing to hold its key policy rate at 2.25% despite strong calls from some members for a cut.

Three of the seven members voted to cut the rate by 25 basis points to 2% in the belief that monetary policy could play "a greater role… in shoring up private confidence and supporting the economy, given noticeably higher downside