Ringgit Slumps to Nine-Year Low as Funds Exit on Fed Rate Bets
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The ringgit slid to a nine-year low after a U.S. jobs report beat forecasts, backing the case for the Federal Reserve to start tightening monetary policy as money flows out of Malaysian stocks.
The dollar rose against 13 of the world’s 16 major currencies on Friday after data showed U.S. employers created 280,000 positions in May, the most in five months and exceeding the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey for a 226,000 gain. Malaysian exports contracted in April for a third month this year, and the trade surplus narrowed, figures showed last week. Overseas investors sold more of the nation’s equities than they bought in May, taking out the most funds of any month this year.