Myanmar currency falls to new low against dollar

Yangon (dpa) - The Myanmar kyat fell further against the dollar Monday, despite government measures to stop its slide.

The central bank set the official reference rate at 1,230 kyat to the dollar, a loss in value of some 50 per cent since the official exchange rate was allowed some flexibility in April 2012.

The informal rate at foreign exchange counters in Myanmar is about 1,300 to the dollar, similar to the informal rate in 2007.

The currency’s continued fall comes despite official measures to prop up the value of the kyat.

In late May, the Central Bank of Myanmar instructed government agencies to use the kyat to buy and sell goods and services inside the country in an effort to stabilise its value.

The fall was driven by greater local demand for the US dollar, which has strengthened globally, said senior official Than Lwin from Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank, Myanmar’s biggest local bank.