The finance ministry said that from Feb 26 to May 17, the local note strengthened 2% versus the greenback, while the Singapore dollar, Chinese yuan, Indian rupee, and Thai baht depreciated by 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.7% and 1%, respectively.

South Korean won, Taiwanese dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso and Japanese yen fell between 1.9% and 3.4% over the same period, the ministry said in a post on X today.

The finance ministry said the integrated action it took with Bank Negara Malaysia resulted in the average daily forex trading volume rising to US$17.6 billion (US$1=RM4.71) during the period.

Among the measures implemented were encouraging GLCs and government-linked investment companies to bring home income from foreign investments, and increasing interactions with exporters to convert proceeds into ringgit.

Other efforts included monitoring export and import proceeds conversions as well as strengthening the domestic economy and continuing promised fiscal reforms.

“The prospect of the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year will be a catalyst for the ringgit’s value to recover.

“That notwithstanding, Malaysia has also mobilised various efforts to attract the interest of investors to local assets,” it added.

The rising number of foreign tourists has also boosted demand for the ringgit and hence, contributed to the strengthening of the local currency.