Singaporeans take to money changers with ringgit at record low: 'You never know if it will be like this again'

More cheers for those eyeing a weekend getaway across the border - the ringgit recorded a new daily low against the Singapore dollar on Tuesday (Jan 23). 

The last recorded daily low was on Dec 13, 2023 at RM3.5328, according to checks by AsiaOne.

At The Arcade in Raffles Place on Wednesday afternoon, AsiaOne observed that there were queues at several money changers.

One Singaporean expressed his delight that he will be getting a bang for his buck in his upcoming Penang vacation in March.

Samuel Goh, 37, managed to buy RM1,340 with S$400 from a money changer on the second floor.

"I might have three plates of char kway teow instead of two now," he quipped.

Another Singaporean, who was also at a money changer there, told AsiaOne that the weakening ringgit has prompted him to "buy more for future travel".

The man, who only wanted to be identified as Lim, had changed S$1,000 into ringgit.

"You never know if it will be like this again," he said.

Unlike the previous instance where AsiaOne observed that several money changers in The Arcade had run out of Malaysian ringgit when it dipped then, this wasn't the case this time round. 

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The owner of Fiat Money Changer, who only wanted to be known as Douglas, said that he still has "plenty" of ringgit for sale.

"The demand will always be there, especially when it is closer to Chinese New Year," he added. 

Another money changer, who declined to be named, said that he is not selling Malaysian ringgit "at the moment".

The owner of Universal Money Express at The Arcade added the weakened ringgit against the Singapore dollar means that selling the former will not be profitable for him.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com