Ringgit in free-fall puts 5.00 mark within sight

Kuala Lumpur

NEVER mind where the ringgit is headed next year. Already in dread of what the rapidly shrinking currency can buy, Malaysians braced for further shocks after the ringgit touched 4.472 to the US dollar and 3.122 to the Singapore dollar on Tuesday.

A forex specialist sees the 5.00 mark beckoning in the not-too-distant future, and warned that regional currencies would not be immune from Malaysia's currency jitters if the spiral continues, as a "macro financial risk contagion" could develop owing to the inter-connectedness of risk in the region.