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S’poreans adopt wait-and-see approach to weakened Aussie dollar

SINGAPORE — In contrast to the rush for Malaysian ringgit, Singaporeans appeared lukewarm to the Australian dollar, despite the latter reaching a three-year low of S$1.13 on Monday.

The Australian dollar is the world’s fifth-most traded currency. Photo: Bloomberg

The Australian dollar is the world’s fifth-most traded currency. Photo: Bloomberg

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SINGAPORE — In contrast to the rush for Malaysian ringgit, Singaporeans appeared lukewarm to the Australian dollar, despite the latter reaching a three-year low of S$1.13 on Monday.

Seven out of 10 money changers interviewed yesterday morning in the city area said that, while more Singaporeans have enquired about exchange rates for the Australian dollar, they did not snap up the currency.

The remaining money changers reported some increase in sales for the Australian dollar, but the change was not dramatic.

“People are waiting for the Australian dollar to be on par with the Singapore dollar before changing,” said a staff member at T4 Money Changer in ION Orchard mall. “Some of them have kids studying in Australia and are paying school fees there.”

One dollar of the Australian currency, currently the world’s fifth-most traded, cost S$1.14 at 5pm yesterday. It has fallen by 10.2 per cent over the past three months, down from S$1.27 on May 6.

The favourable exchange rate will benefit Ms Jaslyn Tan Wei Lin, a second-year student at Queensland University of Technology. Her university fees of A$11,400 per semester are paid every March and August and if she pays the fees today, she can expect to save about S$1,800.

With the favourable exchange rate, her mother has made plans to visit Australia every few months. Ms Tan also intends to convert more Singapore dollars to Australian dollars.

Sales of tours to Australia have also increased, according to two travel agencies. For the month of July, CTC Travel reported a year-on-year 40 per cent jump in tour bookings. Chan Brothers Travel saw a 20 per cent surge in bookings to Down Under over the past three months.

“The weakening Australian dollar is definitely the main factor at play,” said Ms Michelle Yin, Marketing Communications Manager at Chan Brothers Travel. “Singaporeans being the travel savvy lot, latch on especially quickly to currency fluctuations to save on shopping and dining.”

Besides the favourable exchange rate, the surge in demand is also helped by increasing capacity and destinations of low-cost carriers, according to Ms Alicia Seah, CTC Travel’s Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Public Relations.

Mr Jonathan Er, a frequent traveller to Australia who left for Sydney with his family yesterday, said his latest trip would be S$300 cheaper per person compared to his last visit, thanks to both weakened Australian dollar and cheaper air fares.

However, the 29-year-old said he would not buy more Australian dollars just because the currency is low. “I won’t purposely change more just because the currency low,” said Mr Er. “I just change what I think I need.”

Mr Shawn Ang, who is currently looking to rent and buy property in Melbourne, is not rushing make the purchase yet, citing concerns with lower interest rates in Australia, increased loans and possibly higher property prices.

“So, I’m not too sure that just because the Australia dollar is weakened, we will get a good deal,” the 28-year-old said. “I still want to monitor their market.”

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