Malaysia Central Bank says it's intervening in currency market

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's central bank said it's intervening in the currency market as policy makers across the region contend with exchange-rate volatility.

Fears of capital controls are "baseless" and it's too damaging and risky to have such measures, Bank Negara Malaysia Assistant Governor Adnan Zaylani told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

He said "yes" when asked whether the central bank was currently intervening in the foreign-exchange market.

The ringgit dropped 0.4 per cent as of 11:50 am in Kuala Lumpur, and touched 4.4150 per dollar, the weakest since January.

BLOOMBERG