YANGON – Myanmar’s ongoing economic problems were caused by “outside factors” and two waves of Covid-19 infections, but the military government takes full responsibility and is working hard to address them, said a spokesman today.
Speaking after the kyat hit new lows this week, the ruling military council’s spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the central bank has been unable to meet local demand for dollars.
Myanmar’s currency has lost more than 60% of its value since the beginning of the month, driving up food and fuel prices in an economy that has tanked since a February 1 coup by the junta.
“The government is working its best to solve this situation as best as possible,” Zaw Min Tun told a regular news conference.
“As it happened under this government, the current government will have to take responsibility.”
Many gold shops and money exchanges have closed in the country due to the turmoil, while the slumping kyat has been a hot topic on social media networks, where users today posted images of panic-buying of fuel, or gas stations closing due to shortages.
The rising prices of goods including fuel have posed major challenges to previous military governments in Myanmar, with the cost of cooking gas among the triggers of the monk-led “Saffron Revolution” in 2007.
Zaw Min Tun said the economy has worsened due to outside factors, as well as the coronavirus, but did not specify the said factors.
“We have the responsibility to build it back,” he said of the economy.
The World Bank on Monday predicted that the Myanmar economy will slump 18% this year, and the country will see Southeast Asia’s biggest contraction in employment.
Last month, the Central Bank of Myanmar tried tethering the kyat 0.8% either side of its reference rate against the dollar, but abandoned the effort earlier this month as pressure on the exchange rate mounted. –Reuters, September 30, 2021
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