Ringgit ends higher against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed higher against the US dollar today following the disappointing the United States (US) Institute of Supply Management (ISM) services data which dented hopes of a US Federal Reserve interest rate rise this month.

At 6pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.0550/0610 against the greenback from 4.0780/0850 on Tuesday.

FXTM Research Analyst Lukman Otunuga said the ISM non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for August came in at 51.4, the lowest since February 2000, and consequently rekindled concerns over the health of the US economy.

"September has been a painful start for the US dollar bulls with the recent soft domestic economic releases challenging the bullish sentiment which initially elevated the greenback," Otunuga said in a statement.

On the home front, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has maintained the overnight policy rate (OPR) at three percent.

The central bank said the degree of monetary accommodativeness is consistent with the policy stance to ensure that the domestic economy continues on a steady growth path amid stable inflation, supported by continued healthy financial intermediation in the economy.

"Overall, BNM projected the economy to expand within expectations in 2016 and to remain on a steady growth path in 2017," it said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, the local note traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit slid against the Singapore dollar to 3.0106/0162 from 3.0058/0125 on Tuesday and fell against the euro to 4.5570/5646 from 4.5531/5621 on Tuesday.

It declined against the yen to 3.9923/9986 from 3.9485/9572 on Tuesday but rose against the British pound to 5.4175/4271 from 5.4388/4506 previously. — Bernama