Record low EUR/THB rate affecting expats?

[ChomDo]

I want to open this topic for the expats struggling to cope with the terrible EUR/THB rate that just keeps falling. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking at the currency rates and worrying how low can it drop. I noticed today it was down to 34.50 (EUR/THB). Last year the rate was quite stable between 41 and 42 and of course some years ago it was at 53. I guess many foreigners are receiving their income etc. in EUR to a Thai account (converted into THB in this case). Especially this is a huge deal for investors from Europe so I'm wondering if the Thai government is planning on intervening in some way?

Any smart ideas on ways to avoid this problem? I mean I know I can receive Euros on a PayPal account etc. and transfer it all when the rate gets better. It's just that you wouldn't have any liquidity so if you don't have enough savings in THB it doesn't help much.

[Rooo]

Moved to Banking / Money Forum.

[Swiss1960]

one more to the countless topics about the same same...

[Costas2008]

It depends on the amount of your income per month.

If you are earning, 100,000 per month a few thousand Baht up or down doesn't make much difference.

For lower incomes again the difference it's not so dramatic as to affect your life in Thailand.

Let's not forget that we had good times before with the baht being low and worst times also.

Exchange rate is a roller coaster and we have to adjust to every time situation.

I can only see a problem with visa requirements, that you have to show a certain amount of income.

But I'm not the best person to speak about that as I'm on retirement visa and I don't need to show an income, but the 800K in the Bank..

Edited March 13, 2015 by Costas2008

[ChomDo]

one more to the countless topics about the same same...

What does that mean..if there's a earlier discussion of this topic please let me know!

Thanks for your view Costas2008. Actually it's not a question of just a few thousand baht here and there. Some months ago I was getting 20 000 baht more than now so it is quite a significant difference.

[MaeJoMTB]

here you are

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/807664-bye-bye-europe-exapats-and-holiday-goers/

Ozzy dollar down from 30 to 25 (20% less)

Russian ruble down 60%

Looks like everyone except the Yanks and the Brits are screwed.

Edited March 13, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[chopin2]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

[Neeranam]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

Yes, when those in power have amassed a fortune in $, Euro or whatever - remember Chavalit with Thaksin?

[ChomDo]

Thanks for the link. Seems like a heated conversation there..I will keep posted on both.

I really hope they do something to weaken the baht!

[Swiss1960]

Thanks for the link. Seems like a heated conversation there..I will keep posted on both.

I really hope they do something to weaken the baht!

you will not be able to hold up with all of them...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/793374-thai-baht-remaining-strong/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/805699-goldman-sachs-on-the-baht/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/790608-now-might-be-the-time-to-get-into-gold/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/803191-how-does-the-devaluation-of-the-us-effect-thailand-and-the-exchange-rate/

[Cypress Hill]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

They already did.

Bank of Thailand cut rates yesterday. They're not going to trash their currency and deliberately stoke inflation just so a few EU holidaymakers and expats can loosen their belts a little.

The OP's best solution is to just send more euros

[chris2004]

No worse than the Pound's drop from 72 to 48. Just adjust your spending.

[gerry123]

UKIP

[Naam]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

actually they are doing their level best to achieve the contrary.

[Swiss1960]

UKIP

OP taking about Euro, so it would be AfP (Germany) or Front National (France) or SVP (Switzerland) or any other such right-wing party...

[Costas2008]

one more to the countless topics about the same same...

What does that mean..if there's a earlier discussion of this topic please let me know!

Thanks for your view Costas2008. Actually it's not a question of just a few thousand baht here and there. Some months ago I was getting 20 000 baht more than now so it is quite a significant difference.

About 7 years ago, if I remember well, I was getting 68Baht to a Pound.

Now I'm getting 49Baht.

A difference of 38,000Baht a month.

Has it affected my life style? No

Has it affected your life style? Don't think so.

But it's good to have a moan, especially for something we haven't got any control over it.

[Pib]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

They already did yesterday when the Bank of Thailand lowered one of its key rates from 2% to 1.75%. Immediately the baht weakened against currencies like the USD and GBP by around 0.5% but against the Euro it remained flat because of Euro weakness. Or I guess you could say it helped the Euro from dropping 0.5% against the baht yesterday.

It's not the baht that needs to weaken; it's the Euro that needs to strengthen but it has a lot of problems right now.

[Swiss1960]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

They already did yesterday when the Bank of Thailand lowered one of its key rates from 2% to 1.75%. Immediately the baht weakened against currencies like the USD and GBP by around 0.5% but against the Euro it remained flat because of Euro weakness. Or I guess you could say it helped the Euro from dropping 0.5% against the baht yesterday.

It's not the baht that needs to weaken; it's the Euro that needs to strengthen but it has a lot of problems right now.

announcing a drop of .25% BUT at the same time announcing that it was only approved with 4:3 votes does NOT really imply that the BoT is serious about it and certainly implies that there will NOT be another drop coming soon... so investors do not really care too much...

[DaddyWarbucks]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

They already did yesterday when the Bank of Thailand lowered one of its key rates from 2% to 1.75%. Immediately the baht weakened against currencies like the USD and GBP by around 0.5% but against the Euro it remained flat because of Euro weakness. Or I guess you could say it helped the Euro from dropping 0.5% against the baht yesterday.

It's not the baht that needs to weaken; it's the Euro that needs to strengthen but it has a lot of problems right now.

Yes, the Euro has a lot of problems right now, and they're not going to be solved anytime soon.

The USD is the best bet for the near future.

[Pib]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

They already did yesterday when the Bank of Thailand lowered one of its key rates from 2% to 1.75%. Immediately the baht weakened against currencies like the USD and GBP by around 0.5% but against the Euro it remained flat because of Euro weakness. Or I guess you could say it helped the Euro from dropping 0.5% against the baht yesterday.

It's not the baht that needs to weaken; it's the Euro that needs to strengthen but it has a lot of problems right now.

announcing a drop of .25% BUT at the same time announcing that it was only approved with 4:3 votes does NOT really imply that the BoT is serious about it and certainly implies that there will NOT be another drop coming soon... so investors do not really care too much...

Not uncommon for central banks to have close votes regarding rate reductions and rises. If it had been unanimous it would have made the BOT look like they missed the boat, was way behind the curve, etc....and could imply they would be voting for another rate adjustment soon---central banks always want to keep the markets guessing as to what the central bank will do next. So, in their closed room and private conversations they make deals on how the vote should go and how close it should be for best effect.

[Naam]

one more to the countless topics about the same same...

What does that mean..if there's a earlier discussion of this topic please let me know!

Thanks for your view Costas2008. Actually it's not a question of just a few thousand baht here and there. Some months ago I was getting 20 000 baht more than now so it is quite a significant difference.

About 7 years ago, if I remember well, I was getting 68Baht to a Pound.

Now I'm getting 49Baht.

A difference of 38,000Baht a month.

Has it affected my life style? No

Has it affected your life style? Don't think so.

But it's good to have a moan, especially for something we haven't got any control over it.

come on Costas, be fair. if a retiree's disposable monthly income was THB 500k then 38k less are peanuts. but if the income was 76k the difference will definitely affect the lifestyle.

of course... breeding badgers and producing highly valued badger cheese changes the situation

[ChomDo]

one more to the countless topics about the same same...

What does that mean..if there's a earlier discussion of this topic please let me know!

Thanks for your view Costas2008. Actually it's not a question of just a few thousand baht here and there. Some months ago I was getting 20 000 baht more than now so it is quite a significant difference.

About 7 years ago, if I remember well, I was getting 68Baht to a Pound.

Now I'm getting 49Baht.

A difference of 38,000Baht a month.

Has it affected my life style? No

Has it affected your life style? Don't think so.

But it's good to have a moan, especially for something we haven't got any control over it.

come on Costas, be fair. if a retiree's disposable monthly income was THB 500k then 38k less are peanuts. but if the income was 76k the difference will definitely affect the lifestyle.

of course... breeding badgers and producing highly valued badger cheese changes the situation

Thank you Naam, I was just about to comment on that. I think Costas got a bit carried away here. If a difference of 38,000 Baht per month doesn't affect you, that's great for you then! And I believe your were talking about 7 years ago compared to now...I'm talking about 3 months ago compared to now. A few months ago I was getting paid 130,000 Baht and now 20,000 Baht less. It does have an impact on your lifestyle if you are paying off a house and taking care of your family. Of course if someone is just taking it easy and sitting in the pub sipping drinks then I guess it wouldn't matter much, because anything over 100,000 Baht per month should be well enough for that.

[Suradit69]

Any smart ideas on ways to avoid this problem?

Keep a decent amount in your Thai bank account when rates are good so that you can live off that when rates are bad.

I always love it when someone asks about keeping money in a Thai bank and the farang financial experts on TV carry on about the low interest rates here and how unsafe it is to keep all your money in Thai banks and that everyone should just bring in enough to live here minute by minute. Those super safe Euro bank accounts that may have paid a percent or two more on deposits may not seem such a wonderful bit of Farang heaven now.

And the same applies to others as well. The US dollar is on a tear right now. It could get a bit better for awhile, but eventually currency rates are cyclical so while the rates are good, buy more baht. Keep it in the banks or buy some gold (which tends to go the opposite direction as the dollar in price). Even a squirrel knows it has to store its nuts away to survive the winter.

Everyone dependent on Euro income and savings must find this all depressing now, but had they topped up their Thai baht balances when the exchange rate were decent, they would be somewhat insulated now and, hopefully, when they need to add more for the extensions of stay or whatever the rates will be better.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Suradit69

[elliss]

Thanks for the link. Seems like a heated conversation there..I will keep posted on both.

I really hope they do something to weaken the baht!

What about doing something to strengthen the Euro ,

Let us make a start , why delay the inevitable ,

Stop supporting ,and bailing out those countries in Europe , who just take out ,and put nought in.

This culture , is similar to the to the social security system in Britain ,where the tax payer supports the lame and lazy.

As always , being generous is being abused, and taken as a weakness.

Greece , Italy , Rumania , to name but a few , must be ousted , then a BIG MAYBE ??? , the Euro will be viable.

German workers, and tax payers , the EU. takers love you too bits.

Long reign, Queen Angela ,

Edited March 13, 2015 by elliss

[steve187]

chomdo

if your are struggling to live on 110,000 a month in Thailand, then you really need to look hard at your life style, come on this is Thailand, where you can eat a meal for 50 baht. A 1000baht a day for food is only 30,000 baht a month, get rid of the expensive condo in Bangkok and the benz.

some Australians, Brits with frozen state pensions and Euro pensioners are on the breadline so to speak. some westeners live in Thailand on the 20,000 baht you have lost

[MrWorldwide]

one more to the countless topics about the same same...

Exactly - what the frack was wrong with this topic ?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/807664-bye-bye-europe-exapats-and-holiday-goers/

OP, learn to use the search function or at least scan the current list of topics, frank you very much.

[clip]

34.50???? You lucky sods try canadian dollar at 24.9 ?

[morrobay]

Is there any hope at all, that Thailand will do something to weaken the baht?

actually they are doing their level best to achieve the contrary.

Who are 'they' and why are they doing that ?

Edited March 14, 2015 by morrobay

[NeverSure]

Any smart ideas on ways to avoid this problem?

Keep a decent amount in your Thai bank account when rates are good so that you can live off that when rates are bad.

I always love it when someone asks about keeping money in a Thai bank and the farang financial experts on TV carry on about the low interest rates here and how unsafe it is to keep all your money in Thai banks and that everyone should just bring in enough to live here minute by minute. Those super safe Euro bank accounts that may have paid a percent or two more on deposits may not seem such a wonderful bit of Farang heaven now.

And the same applies to others as well. The US dollar is on a tear right now. It could get a bit better for awhile, but eventually currency rates are cyclical so while the rates are good, buy more baht. Keep it in the banks or buy some gold (which tends to go the opposite direction as the dollar in price). Even a squirrel knows it has to store its nuts away to survive the winter.

Everyone dependent on Euro income and savings must find this all depressing now, but had they topped up their Thai baht balances when the exchange rate were decent, they would be somewhat insulated now and, hopefully, when they need to add more for the extensions of stay or whatever the rates will be better.

That's all well and good, but you realize that there are expats who don't have surplus money and live month to month?

When the USD was under 29 bht not that terribly long ago people were saying to transfer money to LOS before the exchange rate got worse because the US Fed was printing etc. etc. I didn't bother because I live in the US and need baht only for vacations. Today the USD is pushing 32.9 baht through no genius of mine.

I have friends in LOS receiving Euros and Aus and Can and I feel for them. They live on a modest retirement income.

Cheers.

[Gonsalviz]

Yep, It's good news for American. And when the FED starts increasing interests rates, it will just get better.