Ringgit Performance Falls, BNM Governor Will Answer - PM Anwar

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The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mentioned that questions about the performance of the ringgit will be answered by the Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).


It was a brief response he gave when answering media inquiries in Kuala Lumpur earlier.


Meanwhile, the local currency continues to record a weak performance against the United States (US) dollar so far. At exactly 9am this morning, the ringgit decreased to 4.7870 against the US dollar from 4.7850 when it closed on Monday (yesterday).


The continued decline of the ringgit has the potential to put the local currency past record lows coupled with the weakness of exports and the strengthening of the US dollar.



The ringgit only needs another 2% to reach RM4.8850 per US dollar. The level was last seen in 1998 when the Asian financial crisis affected regional currencies.


The local currency has fallen nearly four percent this year.


Head of Asia Research at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Khoon Goh, said based on current data there is a risk the ringgit will hit a new all-time low.


Citing a Bloomberg Intelligence report, China's slowing economy affected Malaysia's exports, which declined for the 10th month in a row in December.


Although Malaysia still runs a current account surplus, its ratio to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen to near 20-year lows, limiting support for the currency.

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