April 27, 2022, 11:32 AM
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The Malaysian ringgit continued to weaken against the Singapore dollar resulting in some money changers in Singapore running out of the Malaysia currency as demand surged, CNA reported.
Queues at money changers spotted
People queued up to buy Malaysian ringgit in central Singapore on April 25, as the Singapore dollar reached the 3.17 level against the Malaysian ringgit at about 6pm that day.
Barely a month ago in early April, the Singapore dollar-Malaysia ringgit exchange rate was at the 3.10 levels.
Money changers at The Arcade and People’s Park Complex were selling Malaysian ringgit at a rate of S$1 to RM3.10 to RM3.12, CNA reported.
Post-lunch queues were seen from 1pm to 2:30pm.
Sold out
There were money changers that did not see queues -- only because their Malaysian ringgit were sold out.
At least seven money changers at The Arcade were out of Malaysian ringgit by about 2:30pm.
It was reported that customers changed up to S$3,000 to S$4,000 worth of Malaysian ringgit each.
The demand could be due to the upcoming Hari Raya holiday.
Malaysian ringgit depreciating for years
The Malaysian ringgit has been depreciating against the Singapore dollar since 2018.
In July 2015, the ringgit was already considered to have been trading at a low when it hit RM2.81 to S$1, which makes the current rate unprecedented.
But the weakening of the Malaysian ringgit is due to differing monetary policies pursued by the Singapore and Malaysia central banks at the moment.
Singapore has pursued a more aggressive monetary policy by appreciating the Singapore dollar at a faster pace and at a higher level, while Malaysia has maintained a relatively neutral stance to combat inflation, CNA reported analysts saying.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tightened its monetary policy three times in the last six months.
One analyst said the lowest the ringgit is expected to go for 2022 is 3.18 and will maintain at 3.05 for the rest of the year.
Top photo via Google Maps
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