Going by the rate the ringgit is weakening against major currencies, it makes me think if my decision to apply for a transfer back to Malaysia from Singapore last year was a wise one.

During my stint in the lion city, the ringgit was strengthening at a rapid pace that at one time, the exchange rate was RM2.21 for S$1. Now its about RM2.39 for S$1. Meaning, if I exchange S$1,000, I would get RM2,390 as compared to RM2,210 then — a huge margin of RM180.

Ringgit a “washout” in 2008?

Going by the trend, according to an analyst quoted by Bloomberg, the ringgit is set to weaken further. In fact, Bloomberg use the term “washout” to describe the ringgit situation. Quote:

“Malaysia’s ringgit, Southeast Asia’s second-worst performer in the past three months, will be “a washout” in 2008 as a growing budget deficit and policy inaction on inflation turn investors away, a think tank said.

The ringgit will probably weaken to 3.5 per dollar by year end, Ariff Kareem, executive director of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.” [Source]

Now is the time

…to earn in dollar. Those of you who have been making money online, chances are you are already earning in dollar. A weaker ringgit is good news for those USD earners because they can now exchange the greenback and earn more ringgit.

Before anyone accuses me of being unpatriotic, let me stress that this is nothing got to do with patriotism or the lack of it. This is pure bread-and-butter issue. Life is hard already and I can use all the help I can get, including from a weaker ringgit.

But of course this will also mean costlier imported goods. However, I don’t consume much imported goods, so it won’t affect me much. I may have to forget about buying that expensive Nikon D300 DSLR or the Canon 50D camera.

But hey, I heard the D90 is not bad and is priced nearly half of the D300.

Possibly Related Posts