The price of American dollars has risen back to MVR 18 per dollar in the black market.
Traders said the rate was between MVR 17.80 to MVR 18 per dollar yesterday.
The dollar rate rose less than two months after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said that the rate would go down.
The dollar rate was also MVR 18 in the black market at the start of the year. However, the price of dollars fell as usual during the tourism season this year as well. The rate fell the lowest during the campaign for the parliamentary elections. The rate was as low as MVR 17.20 at the time.
However, the dollar rate started to rise again after the season ended and tourist arrivals started to decline.
A dollar trader from Male' told Adhadhu that the rate rose because it was the Hajj season with the Eid holidays also coming up. There were also difficulties in securing dollars, he said.
"It's very difficult to even get dollars now. On the other hand, people going to Hajj and people going on holiday would also buy dollars, right. That's why the price has risen," he said.
A worker at a money exchange shop said that it had run out of dollars sold for MVR 18, adding that a new stock would arrive tomorrow. The price of dollars rose because of difficulties in securing foreign currency, he said.
Speaking at a rally in Fuvahmulah during the Majlis election campaign, President Muizzu said that the Maldivian economy was improving as a result of the current government's efforts to achieve economic independence.
The dollar rate would remain constant, which was also the result of positive economic measures taken by the current government, he said.
"The price of dollars won't go extremely high. It will be kept constant. It will go lower than before. The currency's value will go up. The confidence of foreign investors is coming to our economy. The income earned by the country is increasing manifold," the President said at the time.
Despite the President's remarks, speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Bank of Maldives on June 1, CEO Karl Stumke said the bank had sold USD 333 million in excess of what it was able to buy from customers and the central bank, which he said was unsustainable.
BML's annual report also highlighted that the bank must make difficult decisions to reduce exposure to risks and improve its financial situation while it is not sustainable to continue selling something that is not available for the bank to buy.
