CHIANG MAI, Thailand (REUTERS) - Thailand's finance minister said on Sunday he was satisfied with a recent drop in the value of the Thai baht against the US dollar.

The currency has slipped in the past few weeks from a 16-year high in April due to speculation about possible measures to deter inflows.

The baht weakness, in line with fundamentals, is "what we all expect to see," Mr Kittirat Na Ranong told Reuters.

Mr Kittirat has called for a cut in the benchmark interest rate, which has been at 2.75 per cent since October, as a way of deterring capital inflows that pushed the baht to record highs.