Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Wednesday amid investors’ cautious sentiment about the US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate next month, an analyst said. At 8 am, the ringgit strengthened to 4.1570/1705 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.1605/1660.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) slipped 0.04 percent to 99.550 points. The uncertainties surrounding the US Fed’s interest rate decision for the coming month have been significant. The labor market’s latest data, following a 41-day US government shutdown, indicates a continuing weaker trend.
“The initial jobless claims rose to 232,000 compared with consensus estimates of 223,000 and the prior week’s level of 219,000. The majority of the US Fed officials appear mixed on what they will decide next when it comes to monetary policy in December,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.
Mohd Afzanizam mentioned that the ringgit has experienced corrections against the US dollar after previously reaching levels of RM4.12-RM4.13 last week. It had closed weaker against the greenback the previous day. “We expect the ringgit to stabilize around RM4.14 to RM4.16 today as some technical indicators have gone into the neutral zone,” he said.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies. It gained against the yen to 2.6726/6815 from 2.6800/6838 at Tuesday’s close, climbed against the euro to 4.8138/8294 from 4.8216/8280, and was up vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4652/4830 from 5.4719/4791 previously.
The ringgit traded mixed against ASEAN currencies. It rose marginally vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 248.1/249.0 from 248.3/248.7 at yesterday’s close and advanced against the Philippine peso at 7.04/7.07 from 7.05/7.06 previously. However, the local note weakened against the Thai baht to 12.8330/8838 from 12.8252/8481 at Tuesday’s close and was marginally lower versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1940/2049 from 3.1938/1982 previously.