Malaysia's international reserves up by RM2.6bil

Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s international reserves position improved for a second time as at mid-September, gaining US$600mil or RM2.6bil amid volatility in the currency markets stemming from speculation over a US rate hike and fears of a more serious slowdown in Chinese growth.

Prior to the mid-September improvement, the reserves position had improved as at Aug 28 by US$200mil compared with the previous two weeks when the currency fell to the lowest levels against the US dollar since the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis, data from Bank Negara showed.