Time for a vacation across the Causeway? Singapore dollar hits all-time high against Malaysian ringgit

The first semester for all Ministry of Education primary and secondary schools ends this Friday (May 27) and if you're still contemplating a family trip during the June holidays, a trip to Malaysia might just be worth considering now.

The Singapore Dollar (SGD) hit an all-time high of RM3.1964 against the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) on May 23, reported CNA.

This eased to RM3.1950 later that day.

Simon Harvey, head of FX analysis at MonFX, told CNA that the record high of 3.1964 was hit at 1.48pm Singapore time on May 23 and this was "largely due to strength in the Singapore dollar, as preferred by Monetary Authority of Singapore officials". 

He added: "There wasn't one individual headline-catching event, but instead the technicalities of Singapore's monetary policy that created this all-time high."

On top of that, news of US president Joe Biden reviewing Trump-era tariffs on Chinese goods fuelled a rally in the offshore yuan, Bloomberg reported on May 23.

This rally in the yuan also dragged the SGD higher too, Harvey said.

According to one co-owner of a Singapore-based money changer, the exchange rate between the SGD and the MYR has been rising since the end of February this year, reported The New Paper on April 24. 

It reached a five-year high on April 21 as customers flocked to money changers.

The total volume exchanged at Crante Money Changer in People's Park Complex that day amounted to almost RM400,000 (S$125,260).

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amierul@asiaone.com