The Malaysian ringgit opened higher against major and regional currencies on Friday, ahead of the release of Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the second quarter of 2026 (2Q 2026) today.
At 10am, the ringgit was trading at RM4.0850 for the opening of the Asian session on Friday.
The market expects the Malaysian economy to grow around 5.8% to 5.9% in 2Q 2026, supported by stronger performance from the manufacturing and mining sectors.
According to Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, the GDP reading that exceeds expectations will be a positive development for the Ringgit.
Strong GDP to Support the Ringgit
Higher-than-expected economic growth has the potential to boost investor confidence in the Malaysian economy.
The manufacturing and mining sectors are expected to be among the main contributors to the 2Q 2026 GDP performance.
Should economic growth exceed the projected 5.8% to 5.9%, the Ringgit could potentially receive support on expectations that the domestic economy remains resilient.
US Data Reduces Pressure on the Ringgit
Meanwhile, the US Dollar continued to weaken after the US (US) Producer Price Index (PPI) data showed more moderate inflationary pressures.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.5% to 99.960 points.
The US PPI for July rose 4.7%, lower than the previous 5.0%, while the Core PPI also moderated to 4.2% from 4.7%.
The combination of weak US jobs data and more moderate inflation is expected to reduce the likelihood of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raising interest rates at the September FOMC meeting.
This situation has the potential to benefit the ringgit as the interest rate differential between Malaysia and the US is expected to remain unchanged.
Ringgit Strengthens Against Yen and Pound
At the opening of trade, the ringgit strengthened against the Japanese Yen to 2.5608/5648 from 2.5634/5660 at Thursday's close.
The ringgit also strengthened against the Pound Sterling to 5.5086/5167 from 5.5119/5173.
However, the ringgit weakened against the Euro to 4.7099/7168 from 4.7120/7167.
Against regional currencies, the ringgit strengthened slightly against the Singapore Dollar to 3.1895/1944 and strengthened against the Thai Baht to 12.3086/3326.
The ringgit was virtually unchanged against the Philippine Peso at 6.65/6.67 and the Indonesian Rupiah at 228.4/228.8.
