Malaysia ringgit at seven-month low

Malaysia ringgit at seven-month low (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The Malaysian ringgit (RM) depreciated for a fifth straight session to slump to a more than seven-month low on June 23 due to a firmer dollar and weak oil prices.

Most other Asian currencies also weakened, with the Republic of Korean won (KRW) and Thai baht (THB) depreciating 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Fiona Lim, senior foreign exchange strategist at Maybank said that Asian currencies are cyclical and they might be weighed by fears that further tightening by central banks could bring about more significant downturn ahead.

In Malaysia, the RM depreciated as much as 0.6% to hit 4.674 per dollar, its lowest level since November 11.

Elsewhere, the Indonesian rupiah was trading 0.4% lower, a day after the central bank kept its policy rate unchanged, as expected, adding it would calibrate rate cut decisions every month.

Rully A. Wisnubroto, senior economist at Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia said these depreciations, particularly for the RM  and the Indonesian rupiah (IDR), were due to the recent decline in commodity prices, which has had a substantial impact on economies reliant on commodity export.

For the week, the RM and the THB shed nearly 1.3% and1.6%, respectively, while the IDR was down 0.4%.

Meanwhile, inflation data from Singapore showed a key consumer price gauge rose 4.7% in May, while headline inflation
was up 5.1% year-on-year in May. The Singapore dollar (SGD) was down 0.4%./.