Ringgit marginally lower ahead of BNM’s OPR call

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit trimmed earlier gains to end marginally lower against the US dollar today amid cautious sentiment ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision on the overnight policy rate (OPR) on Thursday.

The two-day monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting kicked off today with analysts anticipating the central bank to maintain the OPR at 3%.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the ringgit traded slightly weaker today, following weaker-than-expected China’s Caixin services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data print for June.

“The weaker print points to the services sector slowing down in China, which is negative for Asian stock sentiment and currency markets.

“In addition to weaker Chinese growth, persistent geopolitical tensions and ongoing concerns about US-China decoupling are also hurting the local currency outlook,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said investors would also focus on the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) meeting minutes as market participants seek evidence for a possible shift in the monetary policy stance.

“In the meantime, the market continues to remain defensive although the weakening data points could possibly alter the direction of monetary policy,” he said.

At 6pm, the local note stood at 4.6485/4.6555 against the greenback compared to 4.6480/4.6525 at yesterday’s close.

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

It fell against the British pound to 5.9101/5.9190 from 5.9016/5.9073 at yesterday’s close, weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.2221/3.2272 from 3.2184/3.2217, but improved vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0641/5.0717 from 5.0654/5.0703.

The local note traded mostly higher against Asean currencies. The ringgit strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.4380/3.4437 from 3.4458/3.4494 on Tuesday but declined slightly against the Thai baht to 13.3237/13.3510 from 13.3230/13.3420.

It increased against the Philippine peso to 8.39/8.41 from 8.41/8.42 and went up against the Indonesian rupiah to 309.4/310.1 from 309.9/310.4 previously. - FMT