KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar in early trade today as investors took a breather ahead of the release of the US consumer price index (CPI) data later today, an analyst said.
At 9am, the local unit edged up to 4.6790/6830 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6805/6830.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that markets seem anxious about the upcoming CPI print – a key inflation indicator that could dictate the tone of the Federal Reserve’s next steps regarding monetary policy in the United States.
In addition, next week, the Federal Open Market Committee will reconvene its second meeting for the year.
“The key question is obviously about the timing for the first rate cut, which has been pushed back multiple times,” Afzanizam said.
The ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency rose against the British pound to 5.9971/6.0022 from 6.0107/0139 at yesterday’s close, appreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1856/1885 from 3.1923/1942 yesterday, and strengthened versus the euro to 5.1137/1181 from 5.1181/1209 previously.
Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly higher against other Asian currencies.
It advanced against the Singapore dollar to 3.5170/5203 from yesterday’s close of 3.5197/5218 and was higher versus the Thai baht at 13.1963/2128 compared to 13.2229/2363 previously.
The local unit was almost flat vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah at 300.0/300.5 compared to 300.1/300.5 yesterday and was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 8.45/8.46. – March 12, 2024