Chiang Mai – The 'Foreign Exchange Certificate' price has shot up and touched the highest mark in three months in the Burmese black foreign currency market.

The FEC or the Burmese Dollar, rose 16 per cent in a few days from Kyat 850 to Kyat 1,050 per FEC.

The wholesalers bought FEC even at the rate of Kyat 1,100 when the current USD price is Kyat 1,220 per dollar.

Though the government officially says one unit of FEC is equivalent to USD one dollar, the actual exchange rate in the black market is always different. The situation worsened after Cyclone Nargis lashed Burma in early May. No one can keep foreign exchange without permission in Burma.

Due to the price difference, even the world body the UN incurred heavy losses. The UN must first remit the aid money to an account in 'Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank' (MFTB) and then withdrew it in FEC. The UN lost USD 1.56 million in three months, its spokesperson admitted.

After severe criticism, the UN said that it would explore ways to avoid such heavy losses.

Until early this month, the USD price in the black market was Kyat 1,215 and FEC was Kyat 850.

One of the reasons behind this sudden FEC price hike may be the sale of fuel in FEC by the government.

The government has started selling fuel in FEC as of today at the rate of 4.17 FEC per gallon.