Malaysian Ringgit Declines Most in Two Weeks

The Malaysian Ringgit fell the most this month as oil prices retreated ahead of the brexit referendum and the surge in demand for haven assets.

The Brent crude that contributes about a fifth of Malaysian government revenue from energy related sources decline further on Monday, following a 2.9 percent decline on Friday. While a gauge of dollar held gains from last week as polls showed that the percentage of people in support of the British membership in the European Union are evenly split with people against it.

“In the last New York session, the dollar rose against most emerging markets on fear of the Brexit risk,” said Masashi Murata, a vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in Tokyo. “The oil price dropped on that as well, which leads to a weaker Malaysian ringgit.”

The local currency fell 0.9 percent on Monday to 4.1 per dollar as at 10:24 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur.