Ringgit slips against US dollar, but mostly higher against major currencies

 

Market sentiment is expected to remain cautious as the Bank of Japan is tipped to raise rates on Friday, following the Fed’s decision, amid tight monetary policies among major central banks, says an analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR:

The ringgit weakened against the US dollar on Thursday but rose against most other major currencies as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) latest interest rate decision, an analyst said

At 6pm, the local currency fell to 4.0965/4.1010 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.0835/4.0880.

The market was closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the Fed is unlikely to be done with its 25 basis points rate hike yesterday, with further increases potentially on the horizon as the US central bank remains committed to bringing inflation back to its 2% target.

“Tomorrow, the market will be focusing on the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) rate decision, and the market is expecting a 25 basis points increase as a possible outcome. Hence, market sentiments are expected to remain guarded amid the restrictive monetary policy stance adopted by the major central banks,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit gained against the euro to 4.7003/4.7055 from Tuesday’s close of 4.7111/4.7163, rose against the yen to 2.6305/2.6336 from 2.6366/2.6396, and advanced vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4877/5.4937 from 5.5037/5.5098 previously.

Against Asean peers, the ringgit eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2099/3.2137 from 3.2093/3.2131, and dipped against the Thai baht to 12.2734/12.2917 from 12.2620/12.2800.

The local currency was also down vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 6.53/6.54 from 6.50/6.51, and remained unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 230.7/231.1 yesterday. - FMT