Ringgit eases against US dollar in line with regional currencies

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit eased against the US dollar at the close of trading today in line with regional currencies amid uncertainty over a US interest rate cut.

At 6 pm, the ringgit slipped to 4.7280/7350 against the greenback compared to Tuesday’s closing of 4.7265/7290.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision today to keep the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 3.00 per cent was much in line with most economists’ expectations.

He said judging from the central bank’s statement, the OPR is likely to remain steady in the near future.

“On that note, views on the timing of the US interest rate cut matters. It seems that the timing for the first cut has been pushed back, allowing the wide interest rate differential with the US rate to be persistent.

“This would mean investing in US assets would give a better yield compared to investing in emerging economies’ assets. This essentially would keep the US dollar strong,” Mohd Afzanizam told BK.

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

It depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2043/2093 from 3.1994/2013 at Tuesday’s close, slid against the British pound to 6.0343/0433 from 6.0159/0191 yesterday and eased versus the euro to 5.1540/1616 from 5.1457/1485.

However, the local note was traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.5331/5386 compared with 3.5283/5304 at Tuesday’s close and slipped versus the Thai baht to 13.2493/2745 from 13.2395/2521 yesterday.

However, the ringgit strengthened against the Philippine peso to 8.39/8.41 from 8.41/8.42 previously and rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.9/301.4 from 302.2/302.4. – BK