Ringgit’s Performance Influenced By External Factors, Says Bank Negara Governor
BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said analysts expect the ringgit to rise this year.
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The Malaysian ringgit has been affected by several external factors according to Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.
Just like other countries, our currency has been influenced by market adjustments to expected changes in United States (US) interest rates, geopolitical concerns, and China’s economic uncertainty.
“BNM is of the view that the current level of the ringgit does not reflect the positive prospects of the Malaysian economy moving forward,” said Abdul Rasheed.
He revealed this when asked about the performance of the Malaysian currency at a recent conference.
He further revealed that the growth for this year will be driven by an increase in external demand as well as strong domestic spending.
In addition, he said the latest forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is that global trade will increase from 0.4% to 3.3% this year.
Expected increment
Most experts also believe that the ringgit will increase because Malaysia’s export industry showed great improvement since the fourth quarter of 2023 while January 2024 also showed a positive development of 8.7%.
“The tourism sector has recovered strongly with tourist arrivals in 2024 expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels of 26 million people.
“Investment momentum has increased with the implementation of approved projects in both the public and private sectors.
“Reflecting this positive development and the government’s commitment to implement structural reforms as well as the expected decline in interest rates in developed economies, most analysts project the ringgit to rise this year.”
That said, the ringgit’s currency continues to record a weak performance against the US dollar as of now.
At press time, the exchange rate for the ringgit is 4.79 against the USD.
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