Ringgit at three-month low against Singdollar

Three months ago, one Singapore dollar was equivalent to RM3.07.

Today, the ringgit is trading at RM3.14 for a Singdollar, according to currency conversion app XE Currency.

Money changers told The New Paper yesterday this was the highest the ringgit exchange rate had risen to in months, and Singaporeans are flocking to stock up on the currency.

The Money Changers Association told TNP yesterday's rate increase was unexpected.

Mr Mohammad Rafi, manager at Sheen International Exchange at The Arcade in Collyer Quay, said: "We're selling the ringgit at 3.145, the highest it has been in the past three months."

The Singdollar had taken a hit in May, falling to RM3.07 from a high of RM3.17 in April. Money changers told TNP at the time that demand became so poor that some reported a 50 per cent drop in business.

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But business picked up yesterday with the improved rate, they said.

Mr Oli Mohamed from Straits Foreign Exchange, a money changer at West Mall in Bukit Batok, said yesterday business had increased by 20 per cent.

"The customers are more than usual, but the demand is still manageable," he said.

The Money Changers Association president, Mr V.S.A. Omar, who himself operates money changer Batik Exchange at One KM mall in Tanjong Katong, said the jump in the exchange rate was something no one saw coming. He said: "These trends, they're hard to predict. All of a sudden the US currency goes down, then the ringgit goes down and the exchange rate goes up."

CIMB economist Song Seng Wun said the increase has its roots in the international geopolitical landscape.

He said in light of increasing tensions between the United States and North Korea, investors are flocking to safe havens, with Singapore being one them in the region. He said this explained the jump in the ringgit exchange rate.

"Investors are taking cover in safe haven assets. The perception is that Singapore is safer relative to other parts of Asia, so when investors need to run for shelter, they come here," he explained.