This marks the Malaysian currency’s strongest level in more than seven years, which was last seen on June 18, 2018, at 3.9960/3.9990.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the improved market sentiment was supported by easing geopolitical pressures amid a robust outlook for the Malaysian economy this year.
“Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee was quite positive in its assessment based on the accompanying statement yesterday.
“The economy will be supported by resilient domestic demand such as consumption and investment, implementation of smaller-scale projects, realisation of approved investments, along with continued strength in the electrical and electronics (E&E) space,” he told Bernama.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also raised its projection for Malaysia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4.3% for both 2026 and 2027, representing an upward revision of 0.3 percentage points.
According to its January 2026 World Economic Outlook update released on Tuesday, “Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces”, the IMF also estimated Malaysia’s real GDP growth at 4.6% in 2025, compared to 5.1% growth in 2024.
The IMF previously set Malaysia’s 2025 GDP at 4.5% and at 4% in 2026.
The report stated that global growth is projected to remain resilient at 3.3% in 2026 and at 3.2% in 2027: rates similar to the estimated 3.3% outturn in 2025.
At 6pm, the ringgit jumped to 4.0045/4.0080 against the greenback from 4.0370/4.0415 at yesterday’s close.
It was last seen at this level at 4.0040/4.0090 on Jan 4, 2021.
The local unit also traded higher against other major currencies and Asean peers today.
The ringgit appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 2.5337/2.5361 from 2.5440/2.5469 yesterday, gained versus the British pound to 5.4177/5.4224 from 5.4273/5.4334, and rose vis-à-vis the euro to 4.6993/4.7034 from 4.7205/4.7257.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1302/3.1330 from 3.1441/3.1478, advanced versus the Thai baht to 12.8362/12.8544 from 12.8587/12.8792, inched up vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 238.0/238.3 from 238.9/239.3, and surged against the Philippine peso to 6.77/6.78 from 6.82/6.83.