Stronger appetite for foreign currencies

Market forces: Customers making transactions at a moneychanger in Kuala Lumpur. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Not only is the US dollar in hot demand but so are several other currencies, as the ringgit continues to perform favourably, say moneychangers.

The Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee are among those on the list, they said, adding that there is no shortage of US dollars in the market.

Malaysian Association of Money Services Business president Datuk Seri Jajakhan Kader Gani said there is currently sufficient US dollars in the market nationwide, describing it as “business as usual”.

“Despite the market being volatile, it has not affected supply,” he said when contacted.

Jajakhan, who is JAGS Money chief executive officer, said the strengthening of the ringgit has also spurred both the sale and purchase of various foreign currencies.

“We noticed a strong spike towards this over the past 10 days, with many taking the opportunity to purchase,” he said.

When met, several moneychangers in the city centre here also said they have ample US dollars in stock.

One of them, Salha Zainul Abidin, said there was also an increasing demand for other foreign currencies over the past week.

“There are more people coming to buy and sell other currencies at our store, especially this week,” she said.

At another moneychanger outlet, Sabariah Banu Shahul Hameed said they had seen an increased demand for the baht and rupee in the past week.

“There are people coming to purchase and sell the US dollar but it’s nothing out of the ordinary,” she added.

Meanwhile, a moneychanger who wanted to be known only as Affin said that while business was normal at his outlet, he noticed there were more customers coming to trade in foreign currencies apart from the US dollar.

Malaysians are taking advantage of the appreciation of the ringgit against most currencies to get foreign money for overseas travel and as an investment.

Engineer Chong CY, 29, said he delayed his plans to visit Taiwan when the ringgit was weaker. But now, going on that holiday might just be easier on the pocket.

“Once I saw news showing that the ringgit was getting stronger against other currencies, I quickly checked if the New Taiwan dollar was one of them, and found that it was.

“The rate may be small, but it is still worth something,” he said.

Marketing executive Aina Dayana, 33, said the US dollar exchange rate at several moneychangers had dipped to as low as RM4.47 when she checked.

“I bought some for now and may exchange them when I need cash in the future or when I travel overseas,” she said.

K. Loganathan said he had exchanged a total of RM2,000 for US dollars, also as an investment.

“I’ve been monitoring the rate since the ‘Black Monday’ incident. I decided not to wait any longer and bit the bullet yesterday,” he said, referring to the stock market plunge on Monday.

At press time, the ringgit was at RM4.46 against the US dollar, RM4.89 against the euro, RM3.37 against the Singapore dollar and RM7.90 against the baht.