11.   The ringgit is poised to fall as a weaker baht and peso make Malaysian exports relatively less competitive compared with those from Thailand and the Philippines, traders said.

12.   The recent volatility reflects a need to re-align exchange rates and trading ranges to compensate for any loss of competitiveness against a weaker baht and peso.

13.   The weaker baht increased concerns that companies will be hamstrung trying to repay rising foreign debts.

14.   The weaker baht made their debts more expansive to repay.

15.   A noticeably weaker Thai baht, which is closely tracked in the peso market, also weighed on the peso, dealers said.

16.   A weaker baht would also raise the price of imported consumer goods.

17.   A weaker baht, ringgit, and rupiah would make their products and their tourism destinations more attractive relative to ours.

18.   But a weaker baht also has drawbacks.

19.   But a weaker baht will also push up imported raw materials, which are used to make goods for exports.

20.   Exports have indeed rebounded, buoyed by a weaker baht.