KUALA LUMPUR — The ringgit regained its strength against the US dollar at today’s opening after a technical correction yesterday, said an analyst.
At 8.03 am, the local currency traded higher at 4.1235/1320 versus Thursday’s close of 4.1430/1485.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said yesterday’s ringgit correction was due to an overbought position, which led traders to pocket some gains.
“The general view on interest rate cuts in the United States (US) is still intact for the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in November and December.
“Therefore, tonight’s data on personal consumption expenditure (PCE) inflation will be closely scrutinised by the investing community,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Afzanizam said the immediate support level for the ringgit is located at RM4.0728. He believed the local note would gravitate towards such that direction given that the overnight policy rate (OPR) is likely to stay for the rest of the year, and perhaps even in 2025.
“This would increase the appeal of the ringgit; especially (when) Asian central banks have commenced their monetary easing such as Indonesia and the Philippines,” he added.
The ringgit traded firmer against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8442/8504 from 2.8634/8674 on Thursday’s close, rose higher versus the euro to 4.6084/6179 from 4.6157/6218, and advanced against the British pound to 5.5284/5398 from 5.5317/5391 yesterday.
The local note also traded better against ASEAN currencies.
It ticked up against the Singapore dollar to 3.2109/2181 from 3.2204/2249 at Thursday’s close and inched up against the Philippine peso to 7.36/7.39 from 7.40/7.41 previously.
The ringgit improved versus the Indonesian rupiah to 271.8/272.6 versus 273.1/273.6 yesterday and went up to 12.7229/7570 from 12.7242/7489 against the Thai baht on Thursday. — September 27, 2024