RINGGIT RISES TO RM4.14 VERSUS US DOLLAR ON ROBUST OCTOBER EXPORTS

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The ringgit performed favourably against the US dollar today, supported by reports of Malaysia’s robust export performance in October. 

At 6 pm, the ringgit rose to 4.1480/1530 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.1605/1660.

The country's exports rose 15.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to a record-high of RM148.32 billion last month, driven by stronger manufacturing shipments and sustained demand for electrical and electronic products.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said the latest export data -- which marked the second consecutive month of double-digit growth-- shows the economy is cruising at a respectable speed.

“It also beat the consensus estimates of around eight per cent growth. Meanwhile, total approved investment rose 13.2 per cent to RM285.2 billion in the first nine months of 2025 (9M 2025), led by a 47.5 per cent jump in foreign investment.

“In some sense, the appreciation of the ringgit is also being associated with the prevailing state of the Malaysian economy,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It appreciated versus the yen to 2.6598/6632 from 2.6800/6838 at Tuesday’s close, strengthened against the euro to 4.8013/8071 from 4.8216/8280 yesterday, and went up vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4451/4516 from 5.4719/4791 previously.

The ringgit also traded stronger against ASEAN currencies.

It edged up against the Thai baht to 12.7977/8191 from 12.8252/8481 at yesterday’s close, rose versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1810/1851 from 3.1938/1982 on Tuesday, inched up vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 248.2/248.6 from 248.3/248.7 and advanced against the Philippine peso at 7.04/7.05 from 7.05/7.06 previously.

-- BERNAMA