Ringgit rebounds to end firmer vs US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit rebounded to close firmer against the US dollar today, buoyed by a softer greenback amid declines in United States (US) Treasury yields.

At 6 pm, the ringgit appreciated to 4.4710/4750 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4950/5010.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that the ringgit continued to remain well-supported amid worries over the health of the US economy.

“The appreciation of the ringgit was also in tandem with the decline of the US Dollar Index (DXY). A possible rate hike in the US would narrow the interest rate gap between the Federal Funds Rate and the Overnight Policy Rate,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes opined that the weakening US dollar is an indicator that its safe-haven appeal was diminishing despite ongoing fragile risk sentiment.

“Market sentiment also suggested the more unsettled the US markets are, the higher the likelihood of the Federal Reserve implementing a 50-basis point cut, which supports the strategy of selling the US dollar,” he added.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It strengthened versus the British pound to 5.6661/6712 from 5.7122/7199 at Wednesday’s close and gained vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8859/8903 from 4.9054/9119 previously.

However, it fell against the Japanese yen to 3.0590/0619 from 3.0464/0509 yesterday.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

It improved versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3746/3779 from 3.3853/3901 yesterday and was firmer against the Philippine peso to 7.79/7.81 from 7.81/7.83 previously.

In contrast, the ringgit went down vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.6382/6545 from 12.5999/6230 on Wednesday and slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 281.2/281.6 from 280.2/280.8. – Bernama