Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) international reserves remained on a downtrend for the third straight month, declining by USD1.3b or 1.1% MoM to a seven-month low of USD111.4b as of 30 June 2023
- Sufficient to finance 5.0 months of imports of goods and services (previously retained imports) and is 1.0 time total short-term external debt.
This was attributable to a decline in foreign currency reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and gold
- Foreign currency reserves (-USD1.1b or -1.1% MoM to USD99.2b): dipped below USD100.0b for the first time since November 2022, reflecting BNM’s intervention in the forex market and loss from the quarterly foreign exchange revaluation, due to a 0.4% rise in the USD index (DXY) on a quarterly basis.
- SDRs (-USD0.1b or -2.1% MoM to USD5.7b): fastest pace of decline in nine months.
- Gold (-USD0.1b or -2.4% MoM to USD2.4b): first decline in nine months as gold price fell by 1.9% MoM and 2.5% QoQ due to a stronger USD.
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