ISKANDAR PUTERI: The government does not plan to revise its economic growth forecast for this year despite a depreciation in the ringgit’s value in the last two weeks.
However, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said, the government would continue to monitor developments in the movement of the local currency.
The government had projected Malaysia’s economic growth to be between 4% and 5% this year.
Rafizi said the depreciation of the ringgit over the past two weeks was largely influenced by discussions about the United States’ debt ceiling.
“It’s still too early to see if the depreciation of the local currency for one or two weeks will have an impact on the (economic growth) projection.
“We have to wait for the trade and economic data in the next month or two, because the growth forecast is not so much affected by the value of the ringgit as compared to trade activities (such as) exports, imports, oil prices and so on,” he told reporters here today.
Nonetheless, he said, the ringgit’s current depreciation did have its benefits, such as in enhancing oil revenue, given that its pricing is in the US dollar.
“The higher the price and the weaker the ringgit, the more money we get. But it’s the opposite for exports, so we will continue to monitor the situation. But right now, there is no need (to revise the projection),” said Rafizi.
Earlier, Rafizi attended the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review session at the Iskandar Puteri city council here, which was also attended by Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi.