{
  "id": 13842555,
  "title": "Ringgit opens higher vs US dollar on fiscal discipline pledge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/ringgit-opens-higher-vs-us-dollar-on-fiscal-discipline-pledge-13842555",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-12T00:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/10/12/ringgit-opens-higher-vs-us-dollar-on-fiscal-discipline-pledge"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: On Monday, the Malaysian ringgit opened higher against the US dollar, buoyed by the government's pledge to maintain fiscal discipline unveiled in Budget 2027. At 8am, the ringgit climbed to 4.0820/4.0880 against the US dollar, up from 4.0830/4.0875 previously. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid noted that the government's target to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.3% of GDP in 2027 from 3.6% this year, demonstrated a pragmatic approach that should bolster Malaysia's sovereign credit rating, providing a strong foundation for the ringgit. However, Rashid cautioned that external factors, especially developments in the Middle East and their potential impact on global crude oil prices, remained uncertain. Hence, he highlighted the importance of monitoring the US Federal Reserve's potential interest rate hikes this month, as this could influence the ringgit-US dollar exchange rate. He forecasted that the ringgit-US dollar pair would remain within a tight range throughout the day. The ringgit had shown resilience against various currencies, strengthening against the British pound, euro, Singapore dollar, Thai baht, and Indonesian rupiah. However, it experienced a slight dip against the Japanese yen. In contrast, against the Philippine peso, the ringgit remained steady.",
  "summary": "The local note edged up to 4.0820/4.0880 against the greenback following the tabling of Budget 2027 last Friday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ringgit opens higher vs US dollar on fiscal discipline pledge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/ringgit-opens-higher-vs-us-dollar-on-fiscal-discipline-pledge-13836837",
        "published": "2026-10-12T00:31:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Ringgit opens higher vs US dollar on fiscal discipline pledge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/ringgit-opens-higher-vs-us-dollar-on-fiscal-discipline-pledge",
        "published": "2026-10-12T00:46:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Ringgit opens higher as Budget’s fiscal discipline boosts sentiment",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/ringgit-opens-higher-as-budgets-fiscal-discipline-boosts-sentiment",
        "published": "2026-10-12T01:13:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}