The Malaysian ringgit experienced its largest surge against the U.S. dollar in nine years, driven by positive sentiment surrounding Malaysia’s economy.
Bloomberg reported that the currency rose by as much as 2.3%, marking its biggest gain since October 2015.
The ringgit also outperformed the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan.
Strong performance against regional currencies
The ringgit showed significant gains against the Singapore dollar, jumping 1.3% to 3.332 per Singapore dollar earlier in the day, and ending at approximately 3.353 by the close of Asian trading hours. This is a notable recovery from its weakest point in February 2024, when S$1 was equivalent to RM3.5725.
Attracting foreign investments
The ringgit is currently outperforming its Asian peers, buoyed by the Malaysian government’s efforts to attract foreign investments.
Recent policies aimed at narrowing the budget deficit, such as rolling back subsidies, have been particularly effective.
So far in 2024, global funds have invested US$112 million (S$149 million) into Malaysian stocks.
Malaysia’s economic indicators are also strong, with second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures surpassing all estimates.
