KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit and Indonesia’s rupiah are expected to be outperformers in the region in 2024 "on a relative basis,” benefitting most from monetary policy divergence, said Standard Chartered (StanChart). First, based on our projections, US policy rates could remain historically high versus Asean economies by the end of 2024. In particular, Malaysian foreign currency deposits rose even amid the country’s shrinking trade surplus,” it noted. The bank sees the ringgit gaining in the event commodity prices rise in 2024 and from a recovery in electronics demand. October prices indicate some improvement in natural gas and palm oil export prices, as per Malaysian trade data,” it said.

Source: The Star January 04, 2024 20:11 UTC