Google published wrong US dollar-ringgit exchange rate data, 2nd time in 2024: Malaysia central bank
Malaysia’s central bank has dismissed incorrect ringgit exchange rate data that has been circulating on social media, saying it is the second case of such misreporting in 2024 by Google.
The flawed exchange rates between the US dollar and ringgit were displayed by Google on March 15, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement to national news agency Bernama on March 16.
“This is inaccurate information that does not reflect the actual trading,” Bernama quoted the bank as saying.
On March 15, the bank’s official website showed that the ringgit traded at 4.7015 against the US dollar at 9am, and closed at 4.7045 at 5pm, with a peak of 4.7075 during the day. Google, however, displayed a rate of 4.98 ringgit to the US dollar at its peak that day.
Bernama reported that during the period from March 1 to March 15, the ringgit had seen a 0.76 per cent appreciation against the US dollar.
BNM said that that the error was not the first, and that there was a similar occurrence on Feb 6. The first incident had prompted the central bank to issue a warning to Google.
“As this is the second instance of misreporting, BNM will be engaging Google for an explanation of how the inaccurate reporting occurred and the corrective measures taken given that this is a recurring issue that has afflicted Malaysia and other countries in the past few months,” the bank said.
“The exchange rate is market-sensitive data and any inaccurate reporting and circulation of unverified data can cause serious implications for the financial markets.”
