CNI News
13 December 2023
Because the Central Bank of Myanmar has allowed the people to trade the dollar freely, the black market could die out and the difficulties of dollar scarcity would be solved, said businessmen.
Authorized dealers, licensed banks have been allowed to trade dollars freely at the market price and buyers and sellers can trade freely, the Central Bank stated on 5th December.
In the past, because the Central Bank designated that one dollar must be sold at 2,100 kyats, there were two prices _ one is the Central Bank price and the other, the black market price. after that, as the Central Bank restricted the price of dollar, exporters and precious stone traders became to save dollars.
Because the Central Bank has allowed the public to trade dollars freely, dollars that were stored will arrive in the market and the dollar black market will die out, U Thet Zaw, an economic commentator told CNI News.
People waiting to buy fuel at the fuel station
" The price of dollar can go up anymore. Once the price reaches an equilibrium, the price will not rise above that. And then, dollars will enter the market. Traders have a lot of dollars. If these dollars re-enter the market, the price will reach an equilibrium. if the price of dollar go up, baht and yuan will enter again. The black market would disappear after being able to trade freely. Even the government might not be able to buy dollars because the dollars will be imported. The price of dollar might rise up to 4,200 kyats per dollar. The commodity price will not decline. The price of fuel also may rise up to 3,000 kyats per litre, we have estimated." said U Thet Zaw.
The government has allowed the public to trade dollar freely in order to solve the economic embargo as well as to replace the suspension of border trade with maritime trade, said business people.
Because the dollar can be traded freely, it has become more beneficial to exporters and they can export more products reportedly. On the other hand, it might be difficult for importers depending on the rise and fall of dollar, U Htay Aung Kyi, a banking expert, told CNI News.
" Because the government has allowed to trade dollars freely, the price of dollar has been much more that 2,100 kyats. So, importers will have more costs. It depends on how they will consider about it to make a profit." he said.
While seeing a basic class
However, because domestic dollar demand will decrease in the long run, it will be easier to import, an anonymous business analyst told CNI News.
" If you have got a lot of dollars, you can import more easily than before. But the price of dollar will go up. It will impact on monetary inflation a bit. On the other hand, exporters can export more products. If the foreign currencies enter the country, it will be the positive effect. If you compare the two, the good is more." he said.
Dollar trading should not have been controlled since before and due to the control, the price of dollar has been higher. Because the dollar trading has been allowed to carry out freely, although the price of dollar is gradually going up, the price will be stable in the long run, pointed out businessmen.
Only if the price of dollar is stable, will the domestic commodity prices be stable. And then, it will be convenient for businessmen to do business. And then, it will be convenient for basic workers to enjoy job opportunities and wages.
