THE ringgit appreciated against the Singapore dollar and hit a 14-month high of 2.9962/9002 as at 1pm today, touching the highest level since October 2016.

The ringgit has not been able to break the psychological level of 3.0 versus the Singapore dollar since it opened at 2.9988/0035 on October 27, 2016.

Prior to that, the local currency opened at 2.9823/9837 against the Singapore dollar on October 26, 2016, and closed at 2.9936/9983 on the same day.

Oanda Corp head of trading for Asia Pacific Stephen Innes told Bernama that Malaysia’s strong export performance, on the back of buoyant global economic growth amid stronger crude oil prices, had fuelled the ringgit’s movements.

Last week, the International Trade and Industry Ministry announced that Malaysia’s exports had increased by 14.4% to RM83.5 billion in November last year, the highest monthly export value ever recorded since March in the same year due to higher demand for manufactured goods.

Innes also said with the benchmark Brent crude oil price continuing to rise to US$67.72 (RM270) per barrel today, the uptrend had provided greater benefits to Malaysia, the top oil exporter in the region.

“Also, as Malaysia is an exporter of base commodities, while Singapore does not have any tangible commodity exports, this further bolstered the ringgit’s performance.”

Innes said Bank Negara Malaysia’s hinting at a policy normalisation for this year, as well as continued cash inflows seen in the local equity market, led the ringgit to trade higher against a basket of major currencies, including the Singapore dollar.

As at 4pm today, the ringgit continued its upward momentum to quote at 2.9983/0024 against the Singapore dollar, after opening at 3.0062/0102 from 3.0081/0123 on Friday. – Bernama, January 8, 2018.