Ringgit In Vicinity Of Multi-Decade Lows, Off'ls "Not Fixated" On USD/MYR

Spot USD/MYR trades flat at MYR4,5037, operating near cyclical highs printed yesterday at MYR4.5045. A break above that level would allow bulls to take aim at MYR4.6100, which capped gains on Jan 23/26, 1998. Bears look for a dip through Aug 26 low/50-DMA at MYR4.4663/25.

• Palm oil futures crept higher Monday, extending gains in after-hours trade despite a larger than expected build-up in Malaysia's stockpiles. A jump in soyoil prices may have lent some support to the tropical oil, as its record-high premium over palm oil widened even further.
• Malaysia's palm oil stockpiles swelled to 2.09mn tons in August (vs. BBG est. of 2.05mn) from 1.77mn tons in the previous month, as production rose to 1.73mn from 1.57mn tons and exports marginally declined to 1.30mn tons. This means stockpiles reached the highest level since Nov 2019 amid fierce competition from top producer Indonesia, which stepped up efforts to boost shipments and drain its own storage tanks.
• FinMin Zafrul expressed confidence that the economy will grow faster than expected this year, adding that updated estimates will be unveiled during the annual budget next month. He reiterated the BNM's view on the ringgit, arguing that it has fared better than many other regional currencies, despite hitting multi-decade lows versus the greenback, with the gov't "not fixated" on USD/MYR levels.
• The domestic data docket is virtually empty through the rest of the week.