Ringgit Gets No Reprieve as It Slides With Oil on Slowing China
- Data shows trade surplus shrank more than forecast in July
- Moody's says foreign-exchange reserve adequacy Asean's weakest
Malaysia’s ringgit fell for an 11th week in its longest stretch of losses since 1993 as lower energy prices weigh on the oil exporter’s earnings and capital flows out of emerging markets amid slowing Chinese growth.
The nation’s foreign-exchange reserves have fallen 18 percent this year, fueling speculation the central bank bought the ringgit to stem declines in Asia’s worst-performing currency. Data issued after the markets closed on Friday pointed to a slight pick up in the last two weeks of August. While a report earlier showed exports rose more than forecast in July, the decline in the trade surplus exceeded estimates. Malaysia’s benchmark stock index dropped this week and is down almost 10 percent in 2015, with a U.S. interest-rate increase likely to spur more outflows.