Saeed says dollar rate has returned to level seen when govt took office

Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed said on Monday that the dollar rate has returned to around the level recorded when the current administration took office in November 2023.

Speaking at a press conference at the President’s Office, Saeed said measures introduced to control the rise in the dollar rate were having an effect and that available data showed the rate had declined.

The official exchange rate is MVR 15.42 to the US dollar. However, increased demand pushed the parallel market rate as high as MVR 23 before the government introduced legal and regulatory measures aimed at controlling foreign currency trading.

“Based on the information we are receiving now, the rate has fallen below where it was when the government took office,” Saeed said.

“The information we have shows that it is within the range seen when we came to office on 17 November 2023. This is significant progress.”

When the administration took office, the parallel market dollar rate was around MVR 17 to MVR 18, according to the article. The rate is now around MVR 20 in the black market, although complaints continue that dollars remain difficult to obtain.

Saeed said the government began its efforts to control the exchange rate at a time when the price of dollars in the parallel market had risen sharply.

Under current law, foreign currency trading may only be carried out with a licence issued by the Maldives Monetary Authority.

Trading foreign currency outside the rate set by the MMA is also an offence.

Amendments that took effect from 1 September allow fines of up to MVR 1 million for violations of foreign exchange rules.