KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is anticipated to fluctuate within a narrow range with a slight upward bias next week, trading between RM4.07 and RM4.09, buoyed by Malaysia’s stronger-than-anticipated gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the third quarter of 2026 (3Q 2026).
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that Malaysia’s GDP, according to the advance estimate for 3Q 2026, exceeded expectations at 5.3 percent.
“These latest figures indicate that the Malaysian economy remains quite resilient, and it would not be unexpected for the full-year GDP growth to surpass the current forecast of 4.8 to 5.3 percent, especially since growth for the first nine months of 2026 (9M 2026) has already reached 5.5 percent,” he commented to Bernama.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) announced on Friday that Malaysia’s economy grew by 5.3 percent in 3Q 2026, following a 6.0 percent expansion in the prior quarter.
The advance GDP estimates for 3Q 2026 revealed that all economic sectors, except mining and quarrying, supported the overall performance, while mining and quarrying experienced a contraction.
In cumulative terms, DOSM highlighted that for the first three quarters of 2026, Malaysia’s economy achieved a growth rate of 5.5 percent, surpassing the 4.8 percent recorded in the same period of 2025.
The services sector continued to drive economic momentum in 3Q 2026, with a 5.4 percent increase (compared to 5.9 percent in 2Q 2026), fueled by growth in wholesale and retail trade, information and communication, and finance and insurance sub-sectors.
On a week-on-week basis, the ringgit appreciated against the US dollar, closing at 4.0795/0835 compared to 4.0830/0875 the previous week.
However, the local currency weakened against a basket of other major currencies during the week.
It declined to 4.5911/5956 against the euro from 4.5807/5858 the prior Friday, and slipped slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.5831/5895 from 2.5791/5821, while depreciating against the British pound to 5.4396/4449 from 5.4063/4123 a week earlier.
The ringgit mostly strengthened against regional ASEAN currencies.
It advanced against the Singapore dollar to 3.1889/1922 from 3.1896/1934 the previous week, and edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 226.3/226.6 from 228.1/228.4.
The local currency rose against the Philippine peso to 6.48/6.49 from 6.50/6.51, though it weakened slightly against the Thai baht to 12.2101/2268 from 12.1735/1909 at the end of last week. – Bernama
