The Thai baht broke the psychological 34-baht barrier to reach a new 10-year high against the US dollar, prompting the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to warn exporters not to panic as it has acted to stem the currency's rise.

The baht peaked at 33.98 to the dollar in afternoon trading on Thursday , before closing slightly weaker at 34.00-34.02.

Four business associations met officials at the central bank to discuss the currency's rise.

Thai Chamber of Commerce vice chairman Phongsak Assakul said after his meeting that exporters would be affected tremendously by loss of competitiveness if the currency rose above 34 baht to the greenback, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises and those in the agricultural and textile sectors.

He asked the BOT to keep the baht inline with regional currencies, particularly the Chinese yuan and Vietnamese dong. Thai exporters currently cannot make profits and are even making losses, which would have a big impact on the country's competitiveness in the long run, he said.