Malaysia's Reserves Dipped

Malaysia’s international reserves have dipped slightly. They fell to $117.6 billion as of October 30, down from $119.6 billion on October 15, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Despite this minor decrease, the reserves are strong enough to cover 4.8 months of imports and nearly match the country’s short-term external debt.

Most of this short-term debt comes from local banks and multinational corporations borrowing from overseas affiliates, which doesn’t put added pressure on BNM’s reserves.

Among the reserve assets, foreign currency reserves fell to $104.6 billion, while assets with the IMF, special drawing rights, gold, and other reserves stayed the same.

BNM, which releases reserve data every two weeks, emphasized that these reserves remain stable and are adequate to support Malaysia’s financial needs.