Ringgit continues to trend higher against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended yesterday’s gains to close higher against the US dollar on Tuesday amid more investors returning to emerging currencies, dealers said.

At 6 pm, the ringgit appreciated to 4.6405/6445 versus the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.6495/6535.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told BK that despite the weaker ringgit at mid-day, with the USD/MYR going up to as high as RM4.6475, it recovered during the afternoon session.

He explained that the anticipation of a rate cut in the United States will continue to dominate market sentiment with incoming data, such as December’s consumer price index (CPI), being key highlights for the week.

“The headline CPI is expected to be slightly higher by 3.2 per cent in December from 3.1 per cent in November, while Core CPI is likely to come down to 3.8 per cent in December from 4.0 per cent previously,” said the economist.

Mohd Afzanizam noted that the inflation report will be published on Thursday and markets will closely monitor such development to form their opinion on the timing of a rate cut.

Meanwhile, at the close, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

It strengthened versus the euro to 5.0790/0834 from 5.0852/0895 yesterday, but depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9092/9143 from 5.9025/9076 on Monday and against the Japanese yen to 3.2235/2265 from 3.2234/2264 previously.

The ringgit was traded mostly higher against Asean currencies.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4912/4947 from 3.4940/4973 at Monday’s close and rose vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 8.28/8.29 from 8.35/8.36.

The local currency appreciated versus the Indonesian rupiah to 298.9/299.4 from 299.4/299.8 but fell against the Thai baht to 13.2737/2928 from 13.2661/2870 yesterday. – BK