Ringgit opens strongly amid upcoming Fed and Bank Negara meetings

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar and other major currencies on the first day of trading for the week.

The financial markets are closely watching two upcoming events, namely the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for Oct 31 to Nov 1 and the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on Nov 2.

At 9.05 am, the ringgit rose to 4.7575/7625 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.7750/7800.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that based on general consensus among experts, it is anticipated that the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) will likely maintain the Fed fund rate at 5.50 per cent.

“This expectation is partly influenced by the latest core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, which indicated a decrease in inflationary pressure to 3.7 per cent in September.

“Similarly, market consensus suggests that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will likely keep its interest rate steady at 3.00 per cent,” he told BK.

He said the local currency is expected to stay within a narrow range versus the US dollar today.

The ringgit was traded higher versus a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit rose against the Japanese yen to 3.1759/1795 from 3.1827/1862 at the close on Friday, edged up against the euro to 5.0253/0306 from 5.0438/0491, and increased versus the British pound to 5.7618/7679 from 5.7945/8005 previously.

The local note was traded mostly higher against other Asean currencies.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4729/4768 from 3.4867/4906 at Friday’s closed, strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah at 298.4/298.9 from 299.5/300.0, and higher vis-à-vis against the Philippine peso at 8.36/8.38 from 8.38/8.39 at previous close.

Meanwhile, it depreciated against the Thai baht to 13.1849/2031 from 13.1808/2008 at Friday’s close. – BK