The current value of the Tongan Pa‘anga continues to steadily weaken against the Australian and New Zealand dollar at the same it strengthens against the US dollar.

A spokesperson from the Treasury Operation at the ANZ Bank of Tonga branch said today, the value of the Pa‘anga remains to weaken steadily against the Aussie and Kiwi dollar and will continue to do so in the future since both economies are very robust.

On the other hand the Pa'anga, which remains strengthened against the US dollar, will remain to do so since the US economy is not good and people are pulling out because of the unfavourable war in Iraq and other situations in the Middle East.

She said that unless the US get their act together and improve their economy the pa'anga will continue to strengthen against the US dollar.

It was also predicted that the Pa'anga would steadily loose its value against the Aussie and Kiwi dollar but the bank does not foresee any dramatic fall in the near future.

However, the continuing weakening of the pa'anga is unfavourable for local importers buying goods from New Zealand and Australia.

This is already evident with the recent hike in the price of bread and other imported products.