KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit reversed the previous day’s gains to close lower against the greenback today due to lower Industrial Production Index (IPI) data and a technical correction after appreciating over the last three trading days, said an analyst.
According to the statistics department, Malaysia’s IPI, which consists of three sectors, namely, mining, manufacturing and electricity, slipped by 0.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in September 2023.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said today’s IPI showed that the Malaysian economy is susceptible to the external environment.
Hence, he said the central bank is expected to maintain its accommodative stance to support overall growth.
On another note, Afzanizam said it is quite common for the local note to undergo some technical correction given its sharp appreciation since last Friday’s publication of the US Nonfarm Payroll (NFP).
“From the technical standpoint, the USD-MYR is currently hovering slightly above the prevailing support level of RM4.6611 while the resistant level is at RM4.7958.
“Perhaps, the markets are still anxious about the US Federal Reserve’s monetary stance and the next US Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Dec 12-13 which will be quite crucial as they will share their latest economic projections,” he told Bernama.
At 6pm, the ringgit slid to 4.6675/4.6725 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6340/4.6400.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower versus a basket of major currencies.
It eased against the Japanese yen to 3.1026/3.1061 from 3.0959/3.1002 at yesterday’s close, decreased versus the euro to 4.9863/4.9916 from 4.9806/4.9871 but strengthened against the British pound to 5.7415/5.7476 from 5.7462/5.7536.
The ringgit also turned lower against other Asean currencies.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.4444/3.4483 from 3.4341/3.4388 yesterday and shrank against the Thai baht to 13.1154/13.1346 from 13.0521/13.0741 previously.
It was also down against the Philippine peso to 8.31/8.33 from 8.29/8.30 and slipped vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 298.4/298.9 from 298.1/298.7 at the close yesterday. - FMT
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