fx reserves down... bnm intervention?
Sing dollar closes above 2.80, new high vs ringgit
By Cindy Yeap / The Edge Financial Daily | June 23, 2015 : 9:14 AM MYT
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Ringgit-vs-SG$
KUALA LUMPUR: The Singapore dollar yesterday hit a new all-time high against the ringgit, with the currency pair closing above the RM2.80 mark for the first time, amid a RM4.1 billion (US$1.1 billion) decline in Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves to a two-and-a-half-month low ahead of a possible sovereign rating downgrade by Fitch Ratings by June 30.
The ringgit weakened to a new intra-day low of RM2.8057 against the Singapore dollar before closing at RM2.8005 yesterday evening. The ringgit hit RM2.8010 to the Singapore dollar intra-day last Thursday but yesterday was the first time it closed above the RM2.80 mark, according to Bloomberg data.
BNM yesterday also announced that its foreign currency reserves stood at RM390.2 billion (US$105.3 billion) as at June 15, 2015. This is down RM4.1 billion or US$1.1 billion from RM394.3 billion (US$106.4 billion) as at end-May 2015, lending credence to speculation that the central bank may have intervened to smoothen the ringgit’s decline amid so-called “US Fed taper tantrums”.
The decline, which took place when investors pulled billions out of emerging markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chief Janet Yellen’s June 17 speech, came after two consecutive months of gains. BNM’s reserve position of RM390.2 billion is still sufficient to finance 8.1 months of retained imports and is 1.1 times short-term external debt.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/s...high-vs-ringgit