KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit strengthened further against the US dollar on the last trading day of 2023 to reach the 4.59 level as well as rising against a basket of major and Asean currencies.
At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.5900/5980 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6055/6125.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit continued to perform favourably versus the US dollar today, taking cue from the sharp decline in US bond yields.
It was reported that the 10-year US Treasury yield dropped a further 50 basis points (bps) in December 2023 after falling 53 bps in November.
“It was at 5.0% in mid-October 2023 and fell to 3.8% in December 2023.
“The ringgit against the US dollar was hovering at 4.58 today, nearing its immediate support level of 4.5778,” he told Bernama.
The local note also traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.2356/2415 from 3.2723/2776, rose versus the euro to 5.0729/0817 from 5.1242/1323, and strengthened vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.8321/8422 from 5.8932/9022 at yesterday’s close.
The ringgit was also traded higher against Asean currencies.
It firmed against the Singapore dollar to 3.4746/4812 from 3.4972/5031 at yesterday’s close and improved vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 8.28/8.31 from 8.30/8.31 previously.
The local currency also edged up versus the Indonesian rupiah to 298.1/298.6 from 298.6/299.3 on Thursday and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.3422/3760 from 13.4979/5260. – December 29, 2023