In an effort to allay fears of the depreciating ringgit, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pointed out that not only the local currency had depreciated, in fact he said some ASEAN country currencies have also declined including the Japanese Yen and China’s Renminbi.
This comes after temperature started rising not only from the hot weather but also from relentless questions from the opposition on the PM’s poor handling of the economy that had caused the ringgit to hit a 26 tear low last week to 4.7750. Anwar had rebutted the claims of a poor economy citing record high investment and GDP growth that all points to a positive economic condition for the country.
January trade figures indicated Malaysian exports rebounded (Jan 2024: +8.7% YoY; Dec 2023: -10.1% YoY) and imports surged (Jan 2024: +18.8% YoY; Dec 2023: +2.9% YoY) in Jan 24 amid narrower trade surplus (Jan 2024: +RM10.1b; Dec 2023: +RM11.7b).
While January headline CPI was unchanged at 1.5% YoY, which was slightly below expectations, core inflation however eased further to 1.8% YoY versus 1.9% in December.
Among ASEAN and other countries, Singapore has been the strongest at 3.56, 7.51 to Thai Bhat, 5,157 to Vietnam Dong, 17.35 to Indian Rupee.
