Ringgit on Signs of Economic Slowdown in Malaysia

The Malaysian ringgit fell today on concerns that Malaysia’s economy is slowing and after the US Federal Reserve refrained from quantitative easing, sparking the speculation that there will be less cash available for emerging markets.
Industrial output posted annual growth by just 0.2 percent in January, compared to the 2.9 percent advance. Analysts predict that a report next week will show that consumer prices rose 2.3 percent in February from a year ago, demonstrating the slowest pace of growth since December 2010. As for the absence of QE from the Fed, it had mixed impact on currencies of emerging markets. The positive data from the United States, that made the Fed unwilling to add stimulus, make traders more willing to risk and buy emerging-market assets, but the dollar became stronger as the result of the monetary decision and is weighting on riskier currencies.
USD/MYR rose from 3.0525 to 3.0550 as of 14:07 GMT today.

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