After tumbling in a free-fall last year, the Malaysian ringgit has seen a substantial rebound and is currently the best-performing currency in Asia as it has risen by 5.3 percent over a 12-month period. Last month, both the ringgit and the Singapore dollar reached an 18-month high against the US Dollar.
However, the ringgit has grown strong not only against the greenback but also the Singdollar. The Singapore dollar fetched less – 3.22 Malaysian ringgit – on Thursday.
On the same day, finance blog Dollars & Sense wrote that the ringgit has “steeply appreciated” by more than 4.5 percent since mid-July. After a worrying downward spiral since mid-2023, the Malaysian ringgit rallied in early August, hitting a multi-month high on August 07.
In May this year, the currency reached a 26-year low of $1 to RM4.78. By early August, however, it had climbed back to $1 to RM4.42 as Malaysia’s economic performance improved.
The ringgit’s surge is largely driven by Malaysia’s economic performance, which has defied the expectations of economists. Advance estimates for Malaysia’s second-quarter growth are pegged at 5.8 percent year on year, the highest quarterly increase since the last quarter of 2022. In comparison, growth in the previous quarter was only at 4.2 percent year-on-year.
Dollars & Sense noted that Malaysia’s economic growth has been observed in many sectors, from manufacturing to consumption. And industry experts are now projecting GDP growth to be at about 5 percent for the year.
The said blog added that the Malaysian economy’s accelerated growth, together with the static Singapore economy, caused the ringgit to grow against the Singdollar in the past two months. However, this does not mean that the Singapore dollar is doing poorly, as it has also appreciated against the US Dollar of late, by almost 3 percent since mid-July.
Let's trust that the Malaysian economy stays on track and the ringgit holds steady, or does even better.
Liverpool's unbeaten start to the Premier League season came to a crashing halt in a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest yesterday. The unchanged XI had aimed to equal a club record of four league shutouts to start a season – last achieved in 2005/06 – but it was not to be.
The Reds were second best across the pitch. A lot of ball possession but I counted only three good chances at goal. It's obvious they lacked cohesion and composure.
Meanwhile, Celtic continued their 100% start to the Scottish Premiership season as the champions triumphed 2-0 over Heart of Midlothian FC.
Arne Engels, who completed his £11m move on deadline day, netted from a 52nd-minute penalty when the match referee gave the spot-kick for handball. And then, in the 89th minute, Luke McCowan collected James Forrest’s pass 20 yards out and curled a shot that the Hearts goalkeeper could only palm off a post and into the net.
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