SINGAPORE - Malaysia’s central bank reaffirmed that it is ready to support the ringgit, which is hovering close to its lowest level since 1998.

Bank Negara Malaysia will ensure the “orderly functioning of the foreign exchange market” with support from government-linked firms, corporations and exporters to attract flows and liquidity into the market, the central bank said in a statement released on April 15.

The ringgit slipped as much as 0.2 per cent to 4.78 per US dollar on April 15, putting it within a whisker of its Feb 21 low of 4.8053, which was the weakest since January 1998.

Still, the ringgit was outperforming regional peers such as the South Korean won, Philippine peso and Taiwan dollar so far on April 15.

Against the Singapore dollar, which has also weakened against the dollar, the ringgit was trading at 3.5142 as at 5.15pm local time, little changed from its April 12 close.

The ringgit had pulled back from its February lows after Bank Negara announced in early March it would encourage state-linked firms to repatriate foreign investment income and convert it into the local currency more consistently.

Malaysia’s currency has been dragged down by broad strength in the US dollar amid bets the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer, and from haven flows triggered by escalating Middle East tensions. The sluggish economic outlook for China, Malaysia’s largest trading partner, has also weighed on the ringgit.

The country is not alone. Investors are watching for signs of further intervention from many emerging-market central banks – including China, South Korea, Thailand, Poland and Indonesia – all of which have seen their respective currencies pummelled by the recent dollar rally.

Nonetheless, elevated oil prices may provide a tailwind to the net oil exporting economy. Brent oil prices are rising towards the US$100 (S$136) per barrel level, and that may provide some support to the Malaysian currency, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Stephen Chiu wrote in a note. Brent was hovering around US$90 per barrel on April 15. BLOOMBERG