KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit continued to strengthen against the US dollar today after the US dollar index (DXY) retreated in anticipation of easier monetary policy in the United States (US) this year, an economist said.
At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.7025/7080 against the greenback compared with yesterday’s close of 4.7295/7350.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell in his two-day congressional testimony beginning yesterday signalled that the interest rate would come down at some point in the future.
At the same time, the Fed needs to be convinced that the inflation will move towards the 2% goal, he said.
Meanwhile, on the home front, Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today announced its decision to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3% during its meeting earlier today.
“The central bank is likely to keep the rate steady throughout the year based on the latest MPC decision,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency was higher against the British pound at 5.9952/6.0022 from 6.0207/0277 yesterday, edged up versus the euro to 5.1257/1317 from 5.1438/1498 but slid vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1778/1817 from 3.1604/1643 previously.
The ringgit also traded higher against other Asean currencies.
It rose versus the Thai baht to 13.2130/2340 from yesterday’s close of 13.2479/2704, appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.5201/5247 compared to 3.5268/5312, improved vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 300.3/300.8 from 301.1/301.6, and climbed against the Philippine peso to 8.42/8.43 from 8.46/8.48 yesterday. – March 7, 2024