A customer counts her ringgit notes outside a money changer at the central business district in Singapore in this August 25, 2015 file photo. Malaysia's ringgit jumped more than 5 percent to a five-week high on October 7, 2015 on stop-loss dollar selling and higher local stocks. The ringgit, the worst performing Asian currency so far this year, surged as much as 5.2 percent to 4.1600 per dollar, its strongest since Sept 1. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Malaysia: Ringgit downtrend continues amid high Covid infection rate

  • Aug 09, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened the week on a weaker note as investors continued to worry over Malaysia’s highest daily COVID-19 cases.

At 9.02 am, the local note stood lower at 4.2230/2250 versus the greenback compared with 4.2180/2205 at Friday’s close.

On Friday, Malaysia recorded 20,889 new COVID-19 infections, the highest since the pandemic started last year, but the number of new positive cases dropped to 18,688 on Sunday with 360 deaths, the highest ever fatalities in a single day.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, on Sunday, announced the long-awaited reopening of economic and social sectors.

“Such news could perhaps provide some good sentiment to the local currency, which has been bearish as of late amid a confluence of factors, mainly due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country,” he told Bernama.

Main relaxations include inter-state and inter-district travel for long-distance married couples and parents who need to visit their children below 18 years old in other locations.

States that have transitioned into Phase 2 onwards under the National Recover Plan are allowed to have dine-in service at restaurants for fully vaccinated people.

Meanwhile, the local note was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit rose against the Japanese yen to 3.8300/8322 from 3.8415/8442 at Friday’s close and appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9633/9656 from 4.9815/9844.

It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1152/1169 from 3.1219/1240 and was higher against the British pound to 5.8548/8575 from 5.8685/8720. – Bernama