KUALA LUMPUR — The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar as investors shifted their attention to the extent and timing of anticipated US interest rate cuts, said an economist.
At 8 am, the local currency rose to 4.2845/2950 against the greenback, compared to Tuesday’s close of 4.2850/2895.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said the US Dollar Index remains elevated, with US Federal Reserve officials adopting a cautious stance on the trajectory of rate cuts.
“It appears that a 50 basis points cut scenario may seem unlikely in the next meeting. Perhaps, we cannot totally rule out an intermittent pause in the rate cut decision as the Fed remain wary on the inflation risks.
“At the same time, traders and markets were disappointed with the amount of fiscal stimulus announced by the China’s authorities, leading doubts whether the 5% gross domestic product growth target can be achieved this year,” Mohd Afzanizam said.
He reiterated that the Fed’s stance on interest rates and the Chinese authorities’ economic stimulus have elicited a mixed reaction in the market.
“It’s a matter of the degree of support. Following this, we sense that risk aversion should stabilise and the sharp correction in Brent crude oil prices from US$80.93 per barrel on Oct 7 to US$77.58 per barrel presently should alleviate concern on risk of higher inflation,” he said.
Thus, ringgit should stabilise and possibly stage some rebound after sharp correction since the start of the month, he added.
At the opening, the ringgit traded mostly against major currencies.
It strengthened versus the euro to 4.7027/7142 from 4.7079/7129 at yesterday’s close, higher against the Japanese yen at 2.8932/9005 from 2.8988/9022 previously, but edged down vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6123/6260 from 5.6108/6167.
The local note performed mixed versus Asean currencies.
It was higher against the Thai baht to 12.7644/8048 from 12.7933/8129 yesterday and it increased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2854/2937 from 3.2876/2913 at Tuesday’s close.
However the local note was traded almost flat vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.53/7.55 from yesterday’s close of 7.53/7.54 and it almost unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 273.6/274.4 as compared with yesterday’s close of 273.6/274.1. – October 9, 2024