Malaysia’s ringgit fell for a third day after oil prices declined and the dollar rallied before a likely increase in US borrowing costs.

A gauge of the greenback’s strength neared a record high as futures contracts showed a 72 percent chance of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase next month, while the European Central Bank is seen boosting monetary stimulus.

The ringgit, Asia’s worst performer this year amid a 22 percent drop in Brent crude and a political scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and state investment company 1MDB, advanced last week after the debt-ridden firm struck a deal to sell its power assets.

“The ringgit has weakened on the back of a stronger US dollar, with a retreat in oil prices also weighing,” said Khoon Goh, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd in Singapore. “There was also likely profit-taking following last week’s rally in the ringgit on news of 1MDB’s power asset sale.”

The ringgit fell 0.5 percent to 4.2810 a dollar as of 9.10am in Kuala Lumpur and dropped to 4.2913 earlier, the lowest since Nov 24, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. It’s poised to strengthen for a second month, rising 0.4 percent in November, paring its loss this year to 18 percent.

1MDB sale

1MDB said it will sell its power assets to China General Nuclear Power Corp for RM9.83 billion, bringing it a step closer to winding down operations after its mounting debt raised investor concern. The Malaysian company, whose advisory board is headed by Prime Minister Najib, announced plans in February to dismantle its assets after it drew criticism from lawmakers for accumulating around RM42 billion of debt in less than five years of existence.

Foreign funds have pulled RM18.5 billion from Malaysian stocks this year, compared with RM6.9 billion of outflows for the whole of 2014, according to a Nov 23 report from Kuala Lumpur-based MIDF Amanah Investment Bank. Overseas investors have sold a net RM16.2 billion of the nation’s debt in 2015, central bank data show.

Government bonds declined, pushing the yield on the notes due September 2025 up one basis point to RM4.24, according to prices from Bursa Malaysia.

- Bloomberg