IPOH, March 16 — Bank Negara Malaysia Assistant Governor Abu Hassan Alshari Yahaya said it is “highly possible” for the ringgit to reach 3.80 against the US dollar based on the country’s economic fundamentals.
The local currency broke past the psychological barrier of 4.00 versus the greenback earlier this year and has continued to improve in value.
“Our economic fundamentals were firmly fixed for the past two years, and based on that, the potential of the ringgit to surge to 3.80 against the US dollar is highly possible.
“However, we could not predict when it will happen,” he told reporters after launching the Financial Literacy exhibition at Muzium Darul Ridzuan here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday the ringgit was forecast to hit the level soon.
Calling the ringgit among the best performing currencies in recent months, Najib noted that the currency had fallen to as low as 4.49 to the dollar last year, but was now hovering around the 3.90 level.
Najib also highlighted that international ratings firms Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor all rated Malaysia’s administration positively, which he said debunked claims the country was in financial distress.
Abu Hassan said Bank Negara will release its Annual Financial Report soon, during which BNM Governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim will explain in detail the country’s economic and financial performance.
“Our economy performance has been improving since 2016 and, following that, our ringgit has been gradually improving as well.
He said that while Malaysia was affected by global economic developments, the country’s economy and financial systems have been resilient.
