KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended easier against the US dollar amid cautious trading ahead of the US interest rate decision this week, said an economist.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit was traded in a tight range today as the market’s focus shifted towards the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Jan 30-31, 2024.
“In light of the recent better-than-expected US gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of 2023, the Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its restrictive monetary stance.
“This could keep the US dollar well supported and by extension, keep the ringgit trading in a narrow range,” he said.
At 6pm, the ringgit fell to 4.7310/4.7360 against the greenback compared to last Friday’s closing rate of 4.7275/4.7325.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies, except for the Japanese yen where it depreciated to 3.2020/3.2056 from 3.1988/3.2024 at Friday’s close.
The local note inched up vis-a-vis the British pound to 6.0093/6.0157 from 6.0120/6.0183 and ticked up against the euro to 5.1204/5.1258 from 5.1279/5.1333 previously.
At the same time, the local note was traded mostly lower against Asean currencies.
It was almost flat against the Singapore dollar at 3.5269/3.5309 versus 3.5267/3.5307 on Friday and was weaker versus the Thai baht at 13.2949/13.3153 from 13.2679/13.2879 previously.
The local unit also declined against the Indonesian rupiah to 299.1/299.7 from 298.7/299.1 last week and decreased against the Philippine peso to 8.40/8.42 from 8.39/8.41 previously. - FMT
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