Ringgit hits highest level since April 2023, says deputy finance minister

Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying said the ringgit had shown remarkable performance, reaching its highest level since April 2023.

“For instance, our ringgit has shown remarkable performance, recording its largest daily gain in 9 years and reaching its highest level since April 2023.

“This not only reflected the strength of the national economy but also the high confidence of foreign investors in our economic growth prospects,” she said via a Facebook post.

She noted that the anticipated influx of foreign funds and the stability of national monetary policy had contributed to the strengthening of the ringgit.

“Although the ringgit has been undervalued for quite some time, this situation presents significant opportunities for future value improvement.

“The potential returns on investment in Malaysia are expected to continue rising, especially with the anticipated maintenance of the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the possible interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (FED) in the United States as early as September,” she said.

In July, the ringgit had risen by 2.8% month-on-month (MoM) to 4.591 against the US dollar, reported NST.

On August 3, the ringgit edged up by 30 basis points to 4.5645/5725 against the US dollar, the ringgit rose from 4.5675/5710 the day before.

This meant the ringgit had reversed losses from the first half of 2024 and achieved a slight 0.1% year-to-date gain.

MIDF Research projected that the ringgit would likely strengthen further in the latter half of the year, with a potential year-end value of 4.43 compared to 4.59 at the end of 2023.

StanChart projected the ringgit would reach 4.66 per US dollar by the end of 2024 and 4.55 by the end of 2025.