As of November 28, the kyat was trading at K981 to the dollar. A week earlier, November 21, a dollar bought K955.5, and on November 14 it was just shy of K950.
A Central Bank official said the dollar had risen against many foreign currencies, including the Japanese yen, the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit.
Gold cost about K665,000 a tical (one tical equals 0.576 ounces or 24 karat) in Yangon as of November 27, about K10,000 down from last month, reflecting the global trend, though prices at the borders with Thailand and China have remained steady, the official said.
Local money changers said demand for the dollar rose last week on speculation by buyers, which pushed the exchange rate up in some areas as high as K985 as of November 27.
Experts said the trade deficit helped weaken the kyat, with exports lagging behind imports.
The fall of the kyat is starting to take its toll on importers though.
Daw Moe Moe Hlaing, manager for a medical equipment company, said relaxed import restrictions had helped them maintain supplies despite a K100 fall in the value of the local currency over the past year.
“This volatility has not hurt us as much as it did two to three years ago, but we have temporarily stopped importing,” she said, following a demand from their bank for a remittance to cover anticipated exchange-rate costs.
The Central Bank official said the Bank had a plan to ease the impact of rate changes, but it would be costly, adding, “We are considering selling dollars if the rate goes too high, but the banking industry would have to contribute to the cost.”
source: The Myanmar Times
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