KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit has been recognised as the best-performing currency globally over the past three months, says Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
He said the ringgit strengthened by 11 per cent during the three months, outpacing other currencies worldwide.
Rafizi said the ringgit's performance reflected the government's economic management and strategic policies.
"No other currency has appreciated as much as the ringgit over the last three months.
"This 11 per cent increase demonstrates the resilience of our economy and the confidence the international community has in Malaysia's economic future."
He said this in a speech during an engagement session on the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) between the Economy Ministry and the Selangor state government.
Rafizi added that the performance of a currency isn't judged by its value alone, but also measured by whether it strengthens or weakens at a given point in time.
This, he said depends on many dynamic economic factors globally.
"The position or strength of the dollar at any given time depends on the economic performance, trade, interest rates, and various other factors at that time.
"The same applies to us. That's why when the market or analysts label the ringgit as the best-performing currency in the world, it's because no other currency in the world has strengthened as much over the past three months," he said.
At 8am today, the ringgit was traded at 4.1200/1275 versus the greenback compared to yesterday's close of 4.1210/1260.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.8655/8709 against 2.8899/8936 at Monday's close, appreciated vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5876/5960 from 4.6106/6162, and advanced against the British pound to 5.5109/5209 from 5.5193/5260 yesterday.
The local currency also improved against Asean currencies.
It ticked up against the Singapore dollar to 3.2057/2118 from 3.2175/2217 at Monday's close and rose to 12.7082/7420 from 12.8037/8248 against the Thai baht.
The ringgit improved versus the Indonesian rupiah to 272.0/272.7 from 272.1/272.6 yesterday and remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.34/7.37 from 7.35/7.37.