(Nov 7): Malaysia’s ringgit was set for its biggest weekly decline in more than a year as crude oil prices dropped to the lowest since 2011.

The ringgit fell the most among Southeast Asian currencies as crude futures in New York headed for a sixth week of losses. Oil accounted for 30 percent of government revenue last year. The nation’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.25 percent yesterday in a decision predicted by 23 of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. One forecast an increase to 3.50 percent.

“Malaysia is the only net oil exporter in the region, and is most affected by oil prices,” said Nizam Idris, head of strategy for fixed income and currencies at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in Singapore. “There’s no real fundamental reason to raise interest rates. The ringgit could weaken further.”

The ringgit fell 1.7 percent from Oct. 31, the most since September 2013, and 0.3 percent today to 3.3457 per dollar as of 10:20 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It earlier reached a nine-month low of 3.3495 on Nov. 5.

One-month implied volatility in the ringgit, a measure of expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options, climbed 105 basis points, or 1.05 percentage point, to 7.69 percent this week. It increased five basis points today.

Bank Negara Malaysia, which raised it benchmark rate for the first time in three years in July, said yesterday its current monetary policy stance remains accommodative and is assessed to be appropriate. One-year interest-rate swaps have fallen three basis points to 3.75 percent since the central bank last met on Sept. 18, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Policy Outlook

While Bank Negara expects the Malaysian economy to remain on a steady growth path, it has turned more cautious on the external outlook as exports have shown signs of moderation, Julia Goh, an economist at CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. wrote in a research note yesterday. The odds of a rate increase next year are lower, she said.

Overseas shipments rose 0.8 percent in July from a year earlier, the least in more than a year, and 1.7 percent in August. That followed increases of 16.5 percent in May and 18.6 percent in April. Exports probably rose 3.4 percent in September, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before data due at 12:01 p.m. local time.

The yield on Malaysia’s 4.181 percent sovereign bonds due July 2024 fell three basis points to 3.81 percent this week, data compiled by Bloomberg show. It was little changed today.