USD/MYR to lurch higher as global risk-averse sentiment persists in the market – Mizuho

The USD/MYR has exceeded the 4.20 level. The Malaysian ringgit is set to continue under pressure as market participants remain careful about risk-averse sentiment growing worldwide, economists at Mizuho Bank report.

Growing risk-averse sentiment in the global market due to concerns about Omicron

“In December, the USD/MYR is forecast to remain unstable, due to new sources of concern related to the covid pandemic with the spread of the Omicron variant detected in South Africa, as well as due to headlines related to interest rate hikes in the US toward the second half of November, the currencies of emerging countries depreciated.” 

“Market participants should keep in mind that the political situation in Malaysia could deteriorate rapidly along with public sentiment if COVID-19 cases start to increase again domestically.”