The price for a bar of gold has shot up more than eight percent within the past week, business sources in Myanmar said, with the exchange rate for the United States dollar going up by a similar percentage.
The rise in the dollar exchange rate—which surged from around 4,800 Myanmar kyat to around 5,200—is attributable to several causes, according to business sources: the military junta's recent increase of the civil servants’ allowances by 30,000 kyats, ongoing armed clashes near Mandalay, and other prevailing uncertainties.
The rapid rise created a staggering disparity of more than 1,800 kyat between the real, informal exchange rate and the official rate of 3,374 set by the junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM).
The gold market is experiencing similar turmoil. Prices jumped from under 60 million kyat per bar to as high as 65. . .
Your first month FREE this December
Get unlimited access to high-quality reporting from the frontlines and support independent journalism.
Already a subscriber? Log in
