BENGALURU: Malaysia’s ringgit was the major loser on Wednesday among broadly muted emerging Asian peers as its third-quarter economic growth appeared set to have lost pace, reflecting a fall in mining output.
The ringgit dropped as much as 0.3% and was pinned near a three-month low against the greenback. Equities in Kuala Lumpur fell up to 0.4%.
Malaysia’s economic growth probably slowed, though only modestly in the third quarter from a year earlier, as solid private consumption and construction activity cushioned the impact of declining mining output, a Reuters poll of economists found.
With the US dollar steady near its highest in more than six months and fears growing over higher tariffs that US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened on imports, the ringgit stays prone to depreciation.
Elsewhere in the region, the Singapore dollar was trading mostly flat, while the Thai baht gained 0.4% and the Philippine peso strengthened 0.1%.
“Moving forward, the local note (ringgit) will trade cautiously ahead of the release of Malaysia’s third quarter GDP on Friday, as well as the US’ key inflation figures,” Bank Islam Malaysia said in a note.
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