KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed higher against a basket of major currencies on Monday, supported by Malaysia's latest economic data, although it slipped versus the US dollar.
At 6pm, the ringgit dropped to 4.0805/0845 against the greenback from last Friday's close of 4.0795/0835.
Earlier today, the Statistics Department reported that Malaysia's inflation eased to 1.8 per cent in September 2026 from 1.9 per cent in the previous month, while total trade surged 53.7 per cent to RM396.5 billion from RM258.1 billion a year earlier.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit remained resilient in the face of external challenges, especially after global index provider MSCI said it was considering downgrading Indonesia's stock market from "emerging market" to "standalone market."
"The possible two-step downgrade from Emerging Market to Stand Alone status has led to the depreciation of the rupiah to more than 18,000 rupiah per US dollar while Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 3.57 per cent to 5,000.175 points.
"Thus far, the impact to regional currencies is fairly contained and it is localised," he told Bernama.
Hence, he said, the US dollar/ringgit was hovering within a narrow range of RM4.0788 to RM4.0828.
At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It increased versus the Japanese yen to 2.5790/5817 from 2.5831/5895 at last Friday's close, strengthened against the euro to 4.5726/5771 from 4.5911/5956 previously, and inched up vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4369/4422 from 5.4396/4449.
The ringgit also performed better against its Asean peers.
The local note gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 226.0/226.4 from 226.3/226.6 last Friday and edged up vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 6.47/6.48 from 6.48/6.49.
It also appreciated versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1886/1920 from 3.1889/1922 at the previous close and advanced the Thai baht to 12.1451/1613 from 12.2101/2268.
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