KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — The ringgit is expected to trade within a tight range with an upward bias next week, between RM4.07 and RM4.09, following Malaysia’s higher-than-expected advance estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the third quarter of 2026 (3Q 2026).

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said Malaysia’s GDP growth, based on the advance estimate for 3Q 2026, came in higher than expected at 5.3 per cent.

“The latest figures suggest that the Malaysian economy remains fairly resilient, and it would not be surprising if full-year GDP growth comes in higher than the current projection of 4.8 to 5.3 per cent, with growth for the first nine months of 2026 (9M 2026) already at 5.5 per cent,” he told Bernama.

On Friday, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported that Malaysia’s economy expanded by 5.3 per cent in 3Q 2026, after registering 6.0 per cent growth in the preceding quarter

Its advance GDP estimates for 3Q 2026 report said all economic sectors, except mining and quarrying, underpinned performance, while mining and quarrying contracted.

Cumulatively, DOSM noted that for the first three quarters of 2026, Malaysia’s economy registered growth of 5.5 per cent, higher than the 4.8 per cent in 2025’s corresponding period.

The services sector remained the main impetus of economic growth in 3Q 2026, recording a 5.4 per cent increase (2Q 2026: 5.9 per cent), driven by the wholesale and retail trade, information and communication, and finance and insurance sub-sectors.

Meanwhile, on a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit rose against the greenback to 4.0795/0835 from 4.0830/0875 a week earlier.

The local currency traded lower against a basket of other major currencies during the week.

It fell to 4.5911/5956 versus the euro from 4.5807/5858 on the previous Friday, and inched down vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.5831/5895 from 2.5791/5821 and depreciated against the British pound to 5.4396/4449 from 5.4063/4123 a week earlier.

The ringgit traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It climbed versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1889/1922 from 3.1896/1934 a week earlier and inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 226.3/226.6 from 228.1/228.4.

The local note went up against the Philippine peso to 6.48/6.49 from 6.50/6.51, but it depreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.2101/2268 from 12.1735/1909 at the end of last week. — Bernama