Ringgit likely to continue uptrend next week, trading at 4.28-4.29 against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to continue its uptrend next week, trading at 4.28 to 4.29 against the US dollar, ahead of the United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Sept 17-18.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on track to cut the interest rate next week, the ringgit could stage further appreciation during the holiday-shortened week.

“This is especially true when the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is not about to follow similar footsteps by the Fed as the upside risks to domestic inflation are still visible,” he told BK.

Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the ringgit and other Asia foreign exchanges are likely to remain supported next week, driven by similar dovish expectations from the US Fed.

He said the ringgit should maintain a bullish bias with an expected range of 4.29-4.3150, but the greater likelihood is that the dollar continues to weaken.

“The only potential hurdle could be the US election risks. A stronger polling outlook for the Democratic candidate, US vice-president Kamala Harris, would be bearish for the dollar, while an improvement in the former US president Donald Trump’s numbers would likely boost the greenback,” he added.

On Sept 13, the ringgit breached the 4.30 level, hitting a 20-month high against the US dollar, as traders expected the US Fed to cut interest rates between 25 and 50 basis points.

The local note closed at 4.2975/3050 against the greenback on Friday (Sept 13).

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit appreciated to 4.2975/3050 against the US dollar from 4.3275/3330 a week ago.

The local currency traded mostly higher against other major currencies.

It rose against the euro, closing at 4.7664/7747 from 4.8087/8148 last week, and gained against the British pound to 5.6439/6538 versus 5.7010/7083, but fell vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.0570/0625 from 3.0296/0337 a week earlier.

The ringgit traded higher against ASEAN currencies.

It improved vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3098/3159 from 3.3327/3372, strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 278.9/279.6 from 281.3/281.9, perked up against the Thai baht to 12.8907/9190 from 12.9087/9305 and increased against the Philippine peso to 7.67/7.69 from 7.74/7.75 a week earlier.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed on Monday, Sept 16, 2024, in observance of both Prophet Muhammad’s birthday and the Malaysia Day public holiday.

The exchange said that operations, including trading and settlement activities, would resume as usual on Tuesday, Sept 17. – BK