Singapore dollar hits record high of S$1 to RM3.46 against ringgit on Thursday

SINGAPORE — On Thursday (15 June), the Singapore dollar achieved a new record high of S$1 to RM3.46 against the ringgit, continuing its appreciation. According to online exchange data, the rate on Friday shows a slight decrease to S$1 to RM3.45. The Business Times reports that this represents a ringgit's depreciation of nearly 8.5 percent compared to a year ago, as well as a 4.2 percent decrease since the beginning of this year. On 24 May, the Singapore dollar touched RM3.4102 against the Malaysian ringgit. In relation to the USD, the ringgit reached RM4.6362 on Thursday, indicating a 4.7 percent decline compared to 12 months ago and a 4.5 percent weakness compared to the rate on January 1 this year. The ringgit has ranked second, following the Japanese yen, as one of the worst-performing currencies year-to-date (YTD). It has experienced a 4.5% decline against the US dollar, with only the yen exhibiting a greater decline of 5.9%. In comparison, other regional currencies have also weakened against the USD YTD, albeit at a slower pace ranging between -0.3% to -3.3%.

Malaysia’s central bank asserted that Ringgit' against other currencies "does not reflect the state of Malaysia's economy"

On 26 May, Malaysia’s central bank Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), addressed the issue of the ringgit's depreciation. They attributed this depreciation to external developments, specifically mentioning the US debt ceiling impasse and "episodes of stress" in the US and European banking sectors. "This has led to an increase in demand for safe-haven assets such as the US dollar and outflows from most emerging market economies as investors seek to protect their investments. " "Against this backdrop, the US dollar has strengthened against most currencies." According to BNM, the performance of the ringgit against the US dollar, or any specific currency, does not accurately reflect the state of Malaysia's economy. They emphasized that Malaysia's economy is projected to maintain growth within the range of 4.0% to 5.0% in 2023.