Ringgit in Longest Stretch of Losses Since 1993 on U.S. Tapering

December 28, 2013 Leave a comment

Ringgit in Longest Stretch of Losses Since 1993 on U.S. Tapering

Malaysia’s ringgit fell for a 10th week, its longest losing streak in almost 21 years, after U.S. economic data bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to further cut stimulus that has buoyed emerging markets.The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major currencies, is set for a second week of gains after data showed applications for jobless benefits in the world’s largest economy dropped last week to 338,000, short of a median estimate of 345,000 in a Bloomberg survey.

“Most Asian currencies weakened this week because of the broad dollar strength,” said Saktiandi Supaat, head of foreign-exchange research at Malayan Banking Bhd. in Singapore. “The positive U.S. data also support the case for Fed tapering.”

The ringgit fell 0.3 percent since Dec. 20 to 3.2965 per dollar as of 10:27 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was little changed today and reached 3.2975 earlier, approaching yesterday’s low of 3.2990 that was the weakest since Sept. 13. The ringgit’s 10-week decline would be the longest since the period ended Jan. 1, 1993.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced on Dec. 18 it would cut its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion beginning January. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said at a press conference the Fed may take “further measured steps” to pare stimulus depending on the performance of the U.S. economy.

Volatility, Bonds

One-month implied volatility in the ringgit, a measure of expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options, decreased four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, in the week to 7.78 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It increased two basis points today.

Malaysia’s 10-year government bonds declined this week. The yield on the 3.48 percent notes due March 2023 climbed two basis points to 4.14 percent, the highest since July 31, data compiled by Bloomberg data showed. It was little changed today.

Global funds raised their holdings of local sovereign debt by 7.9 percent to 141 billion ringgit ($43 billion) in October from the previous month, the latest central bank data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elffie Chew in Kuala Lumpur at echew16@bloomberg.net

Filed under Macro Trends

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