Malaysia ringgit hits pre-peg 17-year low on risk aversion

[SINGAPORE] The Malaysian ringgit hit a fresh pre-peg 17-year low on Monday as sustained worries about China's economy dented global risk appetite with European and Wall Street stocks suffering their largest one-day drop in nearly four years.

The ringgit lost 0.9 per cent to 4.2200 per dollar, its weakest since Aug 31, 1998.

The ringgit was pegged at at 3.8000 to the dollar in September 1998 and maintained there until 2005.

Malaysia's international reserves fell to US$94.5 billion as of Aug. 14 from US$96.7 billion as of July 31, central bank data showed on Friday. The drop was smaller than a US$3.8 billion drop in the second half of July.

REUTERS