Ringgit nears 11-month high in 9-day rally against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened slightly higher today, extending its nine-day upward trajectory against the US dollar and lingering at an 11-month high.

An analyst attributed this rise to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting yesterday, reinforcing investor expectations of a US interest rate cut in September.

At 8 am, the ringgit marginally increased to 4.5875/5945 against the greenback, up from Wednesday’s close of 4.5885/5925.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local currency continued to appreciate, in tandem with a 0.49 per cent drop in the US Dollar Index to 104.042 points.

“This occurred as the FOMC statements suggested that the Fed has become more cautious about the state of the economy and may want to shift their focus towards preserving growth,” he told Bernama.

On another note, Mohd Afzanizam said other emerging market currencies, including the ringgit, are expected to maintain their appreciation bias.

He noted the Japanese yen also appreciated against the dollar as the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 15 basis points yesterday.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies and mixed against ASEAN currencies.

The ringgit rose against the euro to 4.9655/9731 from 4.9680/9723 at Wednesday’s close but fell against the British pound to 5.8959/9049 from 5.8875/8926 yesterday, and dropped against the Japanese yen to 3.0645/0695 from 3.0515/0545 previously.

Against ASEAN currencies, the local note inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 282.0/282.7 from 282.1/282.5 yesterday and improved against the Philippine peso to 7.85/7.87 from 7.86/7.87 previously.

The ringgit weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.4332/4390 from 3.4273/4306 and slipped vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.9153/9419 from 12.8717/8880. – Bernama