Stockmarket.com.my

The ringgit traded near a two-week high after concerns about Europe bank stress ebbed and economic data signal Asia’s recovery is gathering pace.

The currency added to a 1 per cent gain this month as economists predicted a report today will show Singapore’s industrial production increased for a sixth month in June, boosting the outlook for Malaysian exports to its biggest market.

Regional stocks gained after most European lenders passed stress tests and South Korea’s economy expanded faster than expected last quarter.The ringgit gained 0.1 per cent to 3.1940 per dollar as of 9.30 am in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The currency may climb to around 3.13 by year end, a level last seen in April 2008.

Singapore’s factory production probably rose 38.4 per cent in June from a year earlier, following a 58.6 per cent increase in May, economists predicted before a report at 1 pm local time today. The city-state bought 13 per cent of Malaysia’s exports in the first five months of this year.

South Korea’s gross domestic product grew 1.5 per cent last quarter from the preceding three months, the central bank said in a report today, beating the 1.3 per cent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. GDP expanded 7.2 per cent from a year earlier.