Malaysia's international reserves rose in the first two weeks of October, a period during which the country's beleaguered ringgit strengthened. Currency reserves increased to $94.1 billion as of October 15, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said on Thursday, from $93.3 billion on September 30 - which was the lowest level since August 2009.
At the end of 2014, the reserves were $116 billion. In a statement, BNM said the reserve level on October 15 was sufficient to finance 8.8 months of retained imports, and was 1.2 times the short-term external debt.
Over the past year, the country's reserves have declined in parallel with its currency, as investors got jittery over emerging markets amid a weaker global economy, an expected rate hike by the U.S Federal Reserve and political turmoil in Malaysia.
The ringgit gained nearly 7 percent in the first half of October, but has since weakened. For the year, it has lost about 18.5 percent against the dollar, making it Asia's worst-performing currency. On Thursday, it ended at 4.2800 to the dollar.
The latest reserves report came out a day before the Malaysia government will unveil its 2016 budget.
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