15 May 2010 : FX for the Ringgit

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hi,

The usual AmbankResearch article did not appear in the weekend Starbizweek so it's just the Foreign Exchange bit :


Foreign Exchange
GBP/USD open 1.4832 close 1.4587
EUR/USD open 1.2764 close 1.2519
USD/JPY open 92.75 close 92.64
USD/CHF open 1.1072 close 1.1201

The euro continued to weaken against the dollar as concerns about euro zone's ability to contain a debt crisis blunted initial enthusiasm after last week's US$1 trillion rescue package. While investors were relieved that Spain and Portugal were taking steps to cut budget deficits, they also feared that this would slow down euro zone growth, as a reduction in government expenditures could cause a precipitous decline in GDP.

Elsewhere, sterling fell on data showing the UK gods trade deficit widened more than expected in March. That came after the Bank of England governor said that weaker euro zone markets had increased growth risks for the British economy. There are currently various factors working against sterling which include the election stalemate, fiscal spending cuts and continued turmoil in the euro zone.

Meanwhile, in the US the number of workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell on the back of continued improvement in the job market. Recent strong data added to the view that US interest rates will likely rise more quickly than those in the euro zone or Japan.

USD/MYR open 3.2640 close 3.1900
GBP/MYR open 4.8412 close 4.6533
EUR/MYR open 4.1662 close 3.4434  (see Stuurman's post below, should be "close 3.9669")
JPY/MYR open 3.5191 close 3.4434
CHF/MYR open 2.9480 close 2.8280

The ringgit rose on optimism of a stronger recovery in the country's economy. Malaysia's economy grew at the fastest pace in at least 10 years for the 1st quarter at 10.1%. Meanwhile, in the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on Thursday, Bank Negara raised it's Overnight Policy Rate by 0.25% to 2.5%. The local currency continued to see strong demand from offshore parties attracted to higher yielding Malaysia assets. The ringgit ended the week at 3.1900.
Starbizweek

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EUR/MYR open 4.1662 close 3.4434

Hold on it isn't that bad (yet)
EUR/MYR open 4.1662 close 3.9669

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hi,

Oops.

thanks, stuurman.

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Hi Scott

Thanks for all the data on the forex rates. I have noticed that the figures you get seem to be slightly different to the actual closing exchange rate.

For example
"GBP/MYR open 4.8412 close 4.6533"
Actual close: GBP/MYR = 4.6408

EUR/USD open 1.2764 close 1.2519
Actual close: EUR/USD = 1.2361

Just thought I'd highlight it in case you were planning on exchanging any money!

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Hi Guys

I am a little confused about which rates, when, and in what markets are being discussed here: for the benefit of an outsider to this discussion, would you care to share the source urls for the exchange rates being cited?

For example, Scott cites "Starbizweek" for say USD: open/close MYR 3.2640/3.1900 (end week, so presumably 1700h Friday, and probably the average of buy/sell i.e. the "middle" rate?). I wasn't able (1) to find open/close rates on the net, and (2) found that the The Star Online (Business) cites USD TT buy/sell rates for Fri as 3.1680/3.2330, which presumably are based on the Malaysian central bank's published (inter-bank) buy/sell rates, which for 1700h Fri are: 3.1835/3.1869.

I know zot about fx trading, so pointers would also be much appreciated on which of the several published rates (e.g. TT/OD Buy) would a commercial bank give me for my foreign currency, and where can I track it.

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Hi Azka

I track exchange rates using Yahoo, an example of this:
GBP/MYR = http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=GBPMYR=X&t=5d&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

I have tracked the rates 'real time' over the phone with my banks forex system and they seem to match up. Looking at my browser (IE8) the page refreshes approx every minute.

The information on Yahoo is pretty accurate and is 'Live and Instant' most of the time, please view the disclaimers at the bottom of the chart to get a fuller picture.

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I know zot about fx trading, so pointers would also be much appreciated on which of the several published rates (e.g. TT/OD Buy) would a commercial bank give me for my foreign currency, and where can I track it.

Maybank has an online page with the Foreign Exchange rates. I think they update 2 times a day.
Maybank Foreign Exchange

So does the RHB bank:
RHB Foreign Exchange

Guess most bank have a page online like this.

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hi,

I take the FX reports from Saturday's the Star Starbizweek section. I also take it that the rates are mid-points and reflect 5pm on the previous Friday. Or whenever the reporter has completed the article, and which screen he's using.

I'll make this clear in the next set of reports. There's no links for these Starbizreports. Or, at least, I haven't been able to find one. I just type it up.

The Bernama report has a link. But I think I'll dump this as it doesn't add much rationale. The reason for putting in these reports is for the commentary, and trend, rather than the actual rates at that time. And sometimes the reports have something in them that's a surprise, or something that slipped-by during the week. Most of the time it's the standard "risk aversion" but, hey, it gives something to chat with the missus about over dinner.

Anyway, by the time I get around to typing it up it's Saturday afternoon (sometimes Sunday) and obviously rates will have changed. The market never sleeps so everything is always out-of-date. Who said these posts aren't corny.

My limited experience is that banks offer different board rates at any particular time. The rate displayed in CIMB is usually a bit different from Maybank, and different for large amounts, and different for preferred customers and unpreferred ones. 

Why don't banks tell unpreferred customers to go somewhere else?   

I looked at the Star Online link given by Azka, and at the top of the table it says "Issued by Malayan Banking" which is Maybank. So this could be Maybank's board rate, the one on display in the banking hall. If anyone knows different . . . ?

The rates that banks buy/sell with customers is also different from the rates which banks trade between themselves. So there's a set of interbank rates. A bit like wholesale and retails prices I imagine, but I don't know how it fits into the big picture.

TT - telegraphic transfer
OD - on demand, i.e. currency notes
Buying TT or OD = bank buying from you
Selling TT or OD = you buying from bank

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I use xe.com they give the mid-market price. I also use them to trade currency as they are very simple and efficient.

regards Martin

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Thanks, all, for responding. This is informative.

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hi,

I've been looking around to get a definition of "spot rates" and the difference between these and the bank's board rates. Not much luck so far, however the ozforex.com.au site says :

The rates below are "inter-bank" rates relevant to very large transactions. OzForex offers extremely competitive rates which are closer to the spot rates below than those usually offered by our competitors.

As an example of the inter-bank rates here's their chart :

Near real time rates - Not to be used for trading purposes World Time: Auckland 00:36 | Sydney 22:36 | London 13:36 | New York 08:36 | Toronto 08:36 Major Rates Bid Ask   Cross Rates Bid Ask AUD/USD 0.8749   0.8754   AUD/AUD 1   1   USD/CAD 1.0280   1.0285   AUD/CAD 0.8999   0.9004   USD/CHF 1.1297   1.1302   AUD/CHF 0.9885   0.9890   USD/DKK 5.9956   5.9978   AUD/DKK 5.2476   5.2498   EUR/USD 1.2401   1.2406   AUD/EUR 0.7051   0.7056   GBP/USD 1.4433   1.4438   AUD/GBP 0.6060   0.6065   USD/HKD 7.7924   7.7946   AUD/HKD 6.8217   6.8239   USD/JPY 92.76   92.81   AUD/JPY 81.20   81.25   USD/NOK 6.2323   6.2345   AUD/NOK 5.4520   5.4542   NZD/USD 0.7002   0.7007   AUD/NZD 1.2483   1.2488   USD/SEK 7.6903   7.6925   AUD/SEK 6.7337   6.7359   USD/SGD 1.3868   1.3873   AUD/SGD 1.2136   1.2141   USD/ZAR 7.5445   7.5467   AUD/ZAR 6.6066   6.6088

I don't have a Bank's board rate to compare so I'll do a comparison some other day when I find something suitable to compare with this.




PS : At the base of this chart is USD/ZAR. I was able to decipher all the other abbreviations except this one (even DKK - I know, smarty pants, but it took a long time to get). So I had to google ZAR. Here's the challenge : does anyone know what ZAR is without checking online? No prizes, just kudos.

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Delving back in the memory to my banking days, I think it used to be South African Rand.  Is that correct?  Do I win a prize?

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hi,

Brill.   

I lb of kudos to you :

Wikipedia : Kudos (pronounced /ˈkuːdɒs/, or often /ˈkuːdoʊz/), from the Greek κῦδος - kydos,[1] (literally "that which is heard of") means "fame" and "renown" resulting from an act or achievement. Extending "kudos" to another individual is often done as a praising remark. It entered English as British university slang in the early 1800s.