Strong Baht Weak Baht

[Pdoggg]

I'd like to know how the data are collated. Me thinks Garbage In; Garbage Out.

If I ring the bell at my favorite watering hole this gets reported nowhere.

Maybe this has to do with VAT refund stats?   Perhaps the average refund is based on 10K a day spending.  Perhaps the people who don't file for the refund aren't counted in the average.

Except for my rent very few of my expenses can be tracked back to my nationality.  Maybe Sim topups.   Even electric and water payments would be difficult to count and integrate into the TAT spending per day by nationality database.     

[stoolpusher]

what is that VAT refund thing I see a the airport , I just bring cash and never use cards in Thailand but all that will change when I do the big move .

[Pdoggg]

13 hours ago, stoolpusher said:

what is that VAT refund thing I see a the airport , I just bring cash and never use cards in Thailand but all that will change when I do the big move .

I don't know anybody who has ever claimed that refund but here are some details:

When you see a 'VAT Refund for Tourists' sign, you can receive a 7% refund of the VAT levied on goods at the shop. Even so, certain conditions apply, and you won't be able to claim your refund until you depart Thailand from an international airport.

How to claim a VAT Refund
Goods must be purchased from stores displaying the 'VAT Refund For Tourists' sign. VAT refunds only apply to goods taken out of Thailand within 60 days from the date of purchase.

Goods must have a value of at least 5,000 baht (including VAT), and single purchases must have a value of at least 2,000 baht per day.

On the day of purchase, present your passport and request the sales assistant at the store to complete the VAT Refund Application for Tourists form (P.P.10) and attach the original tax invoice to the form. Each application form must show the value of goods of 2,000 baht or more.

Before departure, present your goods and VAT Refund Application for Tourists form to Customs officers for inspection before check-in. Luxury goods, such as jewellery, gold ornaments, watches, glasses, or pens must once more be inspected by the Revenue officers at the VAT Refund Office at the departure lounge.

You can present your claim to the Revenue officers, mail it back to the Revenue Department of Thailand, or drop it into the box in front of the VAT Refund Office.

Refund fees
For cash refunds, there's a fee of 100 baht. For bank draft refund, a few 100 baht plus a draft issuing fee at the rate charged by banks plus postage fees. For credit to credit card account refund, it's a few 100 baht plus a money transfer fee at a rate charged by banks and postal fees.

Refund conditions
Refunds will not be granted in the following cases:

You carry a diplomatic passport and reside in Thailand.
You are an airline crew member departing Thailand on duty.
Your stay in Thailand exceeds 180 days in a calendar year.
Goods were not taken out of Thailand within 60 days after the date of purchase.
You didn't depart Thailand from an international airport.
Name or passport number not on original tax invoice attached to the VAT Refund Application form
Value of goods purchased is less than 2,000 baht per day per store.
Your purchased items fall under the following category: gemstones, firearms or explosives, prohibited items
VAT Refund Application for Tourist form was not prepared on the date of purchase.
The total value of goods claimed for refund is less than 5,000 baht.
Original tax invoices were not attached to the VAT Refund for Tourist form.
You did not carry the goods out of Thailand on the day of your departure.
Goods were not purchased from participating shops in the VAT Refund for Tourists Scheme.
Quantity of goods shown in the VAT Refund Application for Tourist form is less than that shown in the original tax invoice.
Goods were taken out of Thailand without being inspected by Customs or Revenue officers.
Luxury goods were taken out of Thailand without being checked by the Revenue officers.
Tax invoices attached to the VAT Refund Application for Tourist were issued from a different store than mentioned on the form

 

[xyzzy]

I sort of noticed this recently but actually paid attention tonight. At 8:45 PM Kasikorn exchange at The Avenue is showing USD = 30.15 in the window. The nearby TT Exchange is also showing 30.15 as was the one on Soi Buakhao a few minutes later. Is Kasikorn trying to become a real player?

[Pdoggg]

7 minutes ago, xyzzy said:

I sort of noticed this recently but actually paid attention tonight. At 8:45 PM Kasikorn exchange at The Avenue is showing USD = 30.15 in the window. The nearby TT Exchange is also showing 30.15 as was the one on Soi Buakhao a few minutes later. Is Kasikorn trying to become a real player?

Interesting.

Maybe just in Pattaya as their website shows much lower rates.

Perhaps they are attacking TT the same way they attacked Super Rich and Value Plus in the Swampy Rail Link.  They were actually the lowest at the Rail Link and eventually everyone raised their rates. 

[bumblebee]

Now that you mention it, I noticed some Kasikorn booths around town have a rate comparable with.  The one on Klang at the Lengkee restaurant is one, and also one up at Central Marine on north Second road.  

[xyzzy]

Kasikorn (K-Bank) used to be a big player in Pattaya FX. They formally had three FX booths on Soi Buakhao that were all closed after TT took over the market. Each of these booths also had a K-Bank ATM. I have a K-Bank account/ATM card. When the booths/ATMs disappeared there was only one K-Bank ATM between Diana/Buakhao junction and the K Bank at Buakhao and Soi MIT. That ATM was often out of baht as was sometimes the case at the ATMs at the K-Bank. They did eventually put in another ATM next to TT Exchange across from the entrance to Soi Chaiyapoon. But one trip getting baht with my K-Bank card in that area was kind of a crap shoot. Typically not a problem any more.    

[Quietguy]

Apparently there are £100 Scottish bank notes - the biggest denomination English bank note is £50.

Would the Scottish £100 note be recognised and accepted in los? Are there any Scots on here who have used them?

[stoolpusher]

I just got 20.45 to the AUS $ 

[Pdoggg]

33 minutes ago, stoolpusher said:

I just got 20.45 to the AUS $ 

Where was that Stoolie?  That is a much better rate than TT was offering yesterday.  They haven't updated their website today though.

[xyzzy]

Further strangeness at Kasikorn FX. They had US$ 30.05 in the window when TT Exchange had 30.24. A couple of times in the last week K-Bank was actually showing 0.01 more in the window than TT. I used my US VISA debt card today at an ATM and got 30.285. Better than TT and Vasu.

[xyzzy]

WTF happened to the US$? At TT it went from 30.06 to 29.65.

[Pdoggg]

15 minutes ago, xyzzy said:

WTF happened to the US$? At TT it went from 30.06 to 29.65.

I think what happened is that the Fed signaled that there would be no rate increases for all of 2020. All else being equal, low USA interest rates strengthens the baht vis a vis the USD.

[blind boy grunt]

On 12/1/2019 at 5:03 PM, Quietguy said:

Apparently there are £100 Scottish bank notes - the biggest denomination English bank note is £50.

Would the Scottish £100 note be recognised and accepted in los? Are there any Scots on here who have used them?

don't try it QG...i remember some years back a Scottish friend came to Thailand, bringing only Scottish notes. The banks and exchange booths refused them. He had a big problem until more money could be sent to him. Maybe it's different now though, i don't know. Better to be safe than sorry perhaps.

[Quietguy]

OK thanks bbg. I'll stick with the English £50 notes.

[xyzzy]

3 hours ago, Pdoggg said:

I think what happened is that the Fed signaled that there would be no rate increases for all of 2020. All else being equal, low USA interest rates strengthens the baht vis a vis the USD.

I'm still surprised that would cause that big a swing. It's been known for a while the FED wasn't going to do much this year. I didn't even find anything on line explaining.

1 hour ago, blind boy grunt said:

don't try it QG...i remember some years back a Scottish friend came to Thailand, bringing only Scottish notes. The banks and exchange booths refused them. He had a big problem until more money could be sent to him. Maybe it's different now though, i don't know. Better to be safe than sorry perhaps.

Wikipedia says this about Scottish bank notes. So not surprising they are not accepted I suppose:

Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not central banks, and second, because they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom – not even in Scotland.^[1][2] As such, they are classified as promissory notes, and the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes or gold equivalent to the total value of notes issued

[Pdoggg]

2 hours ago, xyzzy said:

So not surprising they are not accepted I suppose

And i thought it was only if smeared with haggis stains.   

But I think they are accepted at Super Rich Thailand's main office. At least it's listed on their website.

Googling around, I found this about the dollar slide. It seems the expectation of a soft rather than hard Brexit and improvement in China-USA trade relations is hurting the greenback.  I think in turbulent economic times the dollar and yen strengthen and in calmer times these currencies weaken.  Think the sudden drop in the dollar index has to do with China though. From Reuters on Dec 31.

Quote

The dollar slid, coming close to wiping out the year’s gains, as the pound and a clutch of trade-sensitive currencies rallied on improving U.S.-China trade relations and the outlook for global growth.

The dollar also fell as one of the biggest bets in the FX market for 2020 is shorting the U.S. currency.

“We could be right at a turning point where global growth re-accelerates relative to U.S. growth, and that could mean a weaker dollar over time,” Kelly said.

The dollar was strong for much of 2019 thanks to the relative outperformance of the U.S. economy and investors’ preference for a safe-haven currency amid the trade dispute. But the dollar’s gains for the year shrivelled in December. Investors bought up currencies linked to global trade, sending the Australian dollar, Chinese yuan and Scandinavian crowns to multi-month or multi-week highs against the greenback.

The dollar index, which tracks a basket of six currencies, fell 0.27 points or 0.28 percent, to 96.47.

But that doesn't fully explain the sharp decline against the baht. The BOT says:

Quote

The Greenback has dropped below 30 baht against the US$, its strongest position in six years. The currency closed at 29.88 baht to the dollar yesterday. But Thai officials say the drop through the 30 baht barrier is not a concern and more of a ‘blip’ than an ongoing trend to increase its value against the Dollar.

At 4pm this afternoon, Thai time, the value is 29.73 baht to the US$ (according to xe.com).

The Bank of Thailand’s deputy governor said the breaking of the psychologically important 30 baht barrier was due to unusual fluctuations, the result of increased year-end transactions, which do not reflect the fundamentals, and added that the dollar was weakening against all currencies.

He said the average exchange rate on Monday was 30.12 baht to $1, and the fall below 30 baht was “an exception and only temporary.”

The deputy governor pledged that, after the New Year holidays, exchange rates will be “less volatile as liquidity returns to normal” and the Thai central bank will “closely monitor the movements of the baht.”

Late December reports in the US announced a series of drops in key measurable of the US economy that contributed to the end-of-year loss of confidence in the US$.

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/economy/greenback-falls-below-30-baht-to-the-usd

I don't know if one should trust what the BOT says, but maybe big currency transactions should be put off until next week.

[xyzzy]

The US$ was back up to 30.06 at TT Exchange yesterday (from 29.64). Down a little now at 30.03 but it was a rapid recovery.

[Pdoggg]

1 hour ago, xyzzy said:

The US$ was back up to 30.06 at TT Exchange yesterday (from 29.64). Down a little now at 30.03 but it was a rapid recovery.

At the main branch of Super Rich Thailand the difference between their Buy and Sell Rate is usually just 3 or 4 satang. Looking at the historical rate for December 31st it was 23 satang, a huge difference.   They didn't know what was happening on such a volatile day so were trying to protect themselves.  But I clearly remember looking yesterday at that same historical rate and it was 40 satang.  So I think they manually changed that day after the fact to perhaps a time of day when it was less extreme.

https://www.superrichthailand.com/#!/en/exchange

I was flying buy on a baht bus and got a glimpse of Kasikorn's rate. As xyzzy mentioned before it appears they are trying to be competitive with TT in Pattaya.

 

[xyzzy]

On 1/3/2020 at 10:28 AM, Pdoggg said:

I was flying buy on a baht bus and got a glimpse of Kasikorn's rate. As xyzzy mentioned before it appears they are trying to be competitive with TT in Pattaya.

Except for the last week when it's been back to the old ways. Must have been something special for what happened a couple of days ago.At one point at one K-Bank booth had up paper signs with the name of the currency but no paper signs showing the rates. 

[ArchieBunker]

Geeze this is a bit depressing!  I have NEVER received less than 30 per dollar and hope I never do.  Wont be back until the middle of February and hope it goes up a bit at least.  It is what it is.  I dont go out much and I dont live like a monger but still I have bills to pay in Thailand.

[xyzzy]

55 minutes ago, ArchieBunker said:

Geeze this is a bit depressing!  I have NEVER received less than 30 per dollar and hope I never do.  Wont be back until the middle of February and hope it goes up a bit at least.  It is what it is.  I dont go out much and I dont live like a monger but still I have bills to pay in Thailand.

I first saw the US$ fall below 30 on the street March 1, 2008 (I left for Cambodia that day). It's happened a few times since then but usually seems to recover in a few days/weeks/ months. It was about 28.5 for a brief period in early 2013.

 

[stoolpusher]

Pour xyzzy 

  The Aus $ is under 21 baht and has been for a long time but it did hit 21.4 for about 10 minutes the other day .

[globetrotter1]

14 hours ago, stoolpusher said:

Pour xyzzy 

  The Aus $ is under 21 baht and has been for a long time but it did hit 21.4 for about 10 minutes the other day .

Ya I hear ya, ours is  only slightly less shit at just over 23

[Pdoggg]

Yanks changing money will like today's exchange rate!  Think it has to do with Coronavirus.