The ringgit jumped the most in nine years against the U.S. dollar amid optimism surrounding Malaysia’s economy, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 5.

The currency surged as much as 2.3 per cent on Aug. 5, on course for its biggest gain since October 2015, and outperformed the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, it was also reported.

Against the Singapore currency, the ringgit jumped 1.3 per cent to 3.332 per Singapore dollar earlier in the day, and is at about 3.353 by the end of Asian trading hours.

The ringgit was at its weakest against the Singapore dollar barely six months ago in February 2024 at S$1 to RM3.5725.

Against the U.S. dollar, the ringgit was trading up 2.1 per cent at 4.4047.

A currency trader in Singapore was quoted as saying that signs of a pivot from the Federal Reserve has allowed "pressure on the ringgit to be released".

The ringgit is outperforming its Asian peers now as the Malaysia government has been attracting foreign investments after introducing policies to narrow the budget deficit, such as rolling back subsidies.

Global funds have poured US$112 million (S$149 million) into Malaysian stocks in 2024 so far.

Malaysia's second-quarter gross domestic product is beating all estimates, supported by improving exports.

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Top photo via ariffjrs Flickr