Thread: Weaker baht lowers Bangkok's cost of living

Weaker baht lowers Bangkok's cost of living
The Nation June 12, 2014 1:00 am

Expatriates should be finding it cheaper to live in Bangkok than last year, based on the latest cost-of-living ranking by ECA International.

Of more than 440 locations worldwide, Bangkok is ranked the 172nd-most-expensive place for expatriates in the twice-yearly cost-of-living survey. Among Asia-Pacific cities, it is ranked 38th.

"Bangkok fell 23 spots to 172nd position, while Kuala Lumpur has fallen eight places to 194th place," the consulting firm reported. "Although items in ECA's shopping basket have risen in price in both locations over the year, the weakening of the baht and the ringgit has meant that these cities have become cheaper for many expatriates."

The baht makes products cheaper, despite higher prices for daily needs such as groceries, fresh produce, drinks and tobacco, clothing, services and eating out.

The baht has weakened by 4.88 per cent from 30.94 per US dollar on June 11, 2013, to 32.45 as of yesterday.

ECA International provides knowledge, information and technology for the management and assignment of employees around the world.

According to the survey, Caracas in Venezuela is the most expensive city currently, surpassing Norway's Oslo, which has dominated the No 1 spot for years.

In Asia, Hong Kong rose to become one of the world's top 30 most expensive locations for international assignees, with Tokyo dropping out of the top 10 for the first time in more than a decade, according to the report.

Currently, Hong Kong is in eighth position regionally, overtaking Singapore (31st globally). ECA still cites Tokyo as the most expensive city in Asia, ranking it 11th globally, followed by Seoul and Shanghai at 16th and 18th respectively.

the baht may have weakened, but the thais propensity for raising prices exorbitantly and for no good reason seems to have increased.

where else in the world can an imported item be priced at 99b on monday, and then for no good reason be priced at 120b on tuesday, other than at a thai supermarket catering to expats.

was that coffee? the one I buy has been 80+ baht for years then about 3 weeks ago jumped to over 122 baht in all shops. Then a while back we had booze meant to go up by a few percent but actually a lot more. Mrs magazine KS KS went up from 20 baht to 30 baht, and so on, nothing seems to go up by the official rate of inflation and price rises outstrip the baht weakening a bit.

Another smoke and mirrors news ploy. Hey, let's go live in Thailand .. I heard it's now a lot cheaper.

Originally Posted by Camel Toe

Another smoke and mirrors news ploy. Hey, let's go live in Thailand .. I heard it's now a lot cheaper.

Dunno about a 'ploy'. They just have to write about something.

Typical Bangkok Post stuff in that it's probably best to turn the page swiftly.

What is it, about 20 satang more to the dollar than a couple of months ago?

Partay!

You're about 5% better off than a few months ago, pretty within normal variance for exchange rates. Pretty daft to highlight this in relation to BKK cost of living, of course it's cheaper if you're exchange rate is better.

Originally Posted by 9999

You're about 5% better off than a few months ago

I don't pretend to be an expert on this stuff, but if you're talking about holding dollars I don't see any variance of anywhere near 5% here this year.

It's from about 33.3 to 32.8 over 2014.

Basically, 50 satang per dollar unless I'm missing something (which on this topic is entirely possible. )

XE.com - USD/THB Chart

Originally Posted by Camel Toe

The baht has weakened by 4.88 per cent from 30.94 per US dollar on June 11, 2013, to 32.45 as of yesterday.

I thought it sounded high too

Here is from TD and Bangkok bank today. Better for me as I am buying dollars in a month for a vacation back home.

USD32.02 32.67
GBP54.12 55.62
EUR43.37 44.44
JPY31.30 32.54
HKD4.08 4.27

13 Jun 14 at 10:45 More»

Huh. Anyone been food shopping lately?
Baht today 32.8/$, 1 Jan 32.7
Inflation 1Jan, 1.7%. Now 2.6%.

Sorry the OP is bogus. Inflation is eating up more than any gain in forex.

Even worse for folks with income in baht.

surprised nobody has mention tart inflation, how much do they charge now?

Originally Posted by Norton

Sorry the OP is bogus. Inflation is eating up more than any gain in forex.

Even worse for folks with income in baht.

sounds quite logical, Thailand has become expensive even compared to Europe living as an expat of course, not a local.

^ That's key .. as an expat. Round here lots of imports are 4-6X higher once they cross the border, when in fact the importation tax ain't that high. Want to live like a Mexican, no problem, staples are regulated, rice, beans, masa, flour, milk. All you can eat ... enjoy.

This is a good one.

Originally Posted by Camel Toe

Another smoke and mirrors news ploy. Hey, let's go live in Thailand .. I heard it's now a lot cheaper.

Certainly not cheaper if you are making and spending Baht. This faux idea of a supposed cost of living when one's incomes and spending habits are derived from foreign currency. It's not real.

Of course it is. Thailand has always done whatever it could to save tourism face. I remember on Samui during the last coup the Post's front page saying tourism is up 25%. Middle of the high season, hotel rooms at half price, Micky D's empty.

Originally Posted by Camel Toe

Of course it is. Thailand has always done whatever it could to save tourism face. I remember on Samui during the last coup the Post's front page saying tourism is up 25%. Middle of the high season, hotel rooms at half price, Micky D's empty.

The myth that tourism and related has an influence of greater proportion on the Thai economy gets old.

Originally Posted by Camel Toe

Of course it is. Thailand has always done whatever it could to save tourism face. I remember on Samui during the last coup the Post's front page saying tourism is up 25%. Middle of the high season, hotel rooms at half price, Micky D's empty.

Difficult to take you seriously on Thai matters as you live in Mexico, quote the Bangkok Post and judge political stability based on McDonalds customers.

Never said I eat that stuff. Pizzas 'n burgers for this kid.

Originally Posted by Norton

Even worse for folks with income in baht.

My missus...

Originally Posted by neemo

No, this means you get 50 Satang less now than in January.

That's what I'm saying.

33.3 to 32.8

And no variance either way of anything like 5%.

And finally no significant change over the last two months.

So, basically, no story.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Originally Posted by Norton

Sorry the OP is bogus. Inflation is eating up more than any gain in forex.

Even worse for folks with income in baht.

sounds quite logical, Thailand has become expensive even compared to Europe living as an expat of course, not a local.

Fuck dat jack! Europe is wildly more expensive, espescially the UK with it's artificially high rates.

I'm in France now;
petit cafe 1.2 euro
demi bier(25cl) 2.2 euro
liter petrol 1.55 euro
tent camp site 10 euro
decent meal at truck stop including table wine or cider and coffee 13 euro.

in Scotland B&B's were 30-35 quid
good hotels 50 quid
pints of watered down Guiness 4 quid

Ireland was also pricey but not as bad.

Still the weather is better here than in Thailand right now, cant beat a delicious cool 23c clear night with the light hint of blooming flowers in the country air.

But the best part is wine is just 1.5-3.5 euro a bottle.
This is why Frenchmen stay thin, cheaper to drink thn to eat.

^May the roads rise up to meet you, Mr Earl...

Originally Posted by aging one

Here is from TD and Bangkok bank today. Better for me as I am buying dollars in a month for a vacation back home.

USD32.02 32.67
GBP54.12 55.62
EUR43.37 44.44
JPY31.30 32.54
HKD4.08 4.27

13 Jun 14 at 10:45 More»

Today the mid market rate is 32.38 and a graph indicated a trend of Baht recovery over last 2 weeks from a high of 32.80. So actually it may be getting more expensive again for expats