USD breaches RM4.50 mark, at 24-year low

 

The Malaysian ringgit has continued to slide against the US dollar, passing the psychological RM4.50 mark yesterday.

This was the first time the RM4.50 level was breached since January 2018, months after the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis.

"A resurgent greenback is exerting pressure on regional currencies as traders speculate that the Federal Reserve will press ahead with large rate hikes to tame inflation.

"For Malaysia, politics is adding another layer of uncertainty with some party leaders pushing for an early election to capitalise on better-than-expected economic growth," read the Bloomberg report.

The ringgit has lost nine percent of its value when compared to the US dollar over the course of a year.

Bank Negara was widely expected to raise interest rates this week to keep up with the US central bank, which has relied on aggressive interest rate hikes to stem inflation.

Opposition lawmaker and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has warned that raising interest rates were unlikely to bring down inflation in Malaysia which he attributed mostly to supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic. - Mkini