KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit was little changed against the US dollar on Wednesday morning as traders adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which will be unfolding tonight, said an analyst.
At 8 am, the local note was slightly higher at 4.2300/2400 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.2320/2365.
It was reported that FOMC is expected to leave rates unchanged and the focus will be on whether Fed chair Jerome Powell offers any hint of a September rate cut.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose to 98.886 points as markets brace themselves for the FOMC decision.
He noted that US data points continued to paint a mixed picture, with the Jobs Opening and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reporting that the number of job openings in June fell to 7.44 million from 7.51 million in the prior month, lower than consensus estimates of 7.71 million.
Meanwhile, the US Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index improved to 97.2 points in July from 95.2 points previously. Concerns over higher prices due to imports, nevertheless, remained foremost among American consumers, he said.
“What this means to the foreign exchange market is that there could be support for the DXY as the Fed is unlikely to cut the interest rates in the immediate term,“ he said.
On a more positive note, Mohd Afzanizam said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its 2025 global gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 3.0 per cent from 2.8 per cent.
Similarly, for Malaysia, the economic growth projection has been raised to 4.5 per cent from 4.1 per cent.
“This suggests that the impact from the US tariff shock would be fairly manageable. Hence, the ringgit against the US dollar would oscillate within RM4.23 to RM4.24 as traders adopt a wait-and-see approach as the FOMC meeting unfolds,“ he said.
At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against most major currencies, but inched down vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8498/8570 from 2.8479/8511 at Tuesday’s the close.
It appreciated versus the British pound to 5.6483/6617 from 5.6518/6578 yesterday and improved against the euro to 4.8861/8976 from 4.8990/9042 previously.
The ringgit was mixed against regional peers.
It was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 257.7/258.5 from yesterday’s 257.8/258.2, gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.2842/2922 from 3.2875/2913, higher marginally against the Philippine peso to 7.37/7.40 from 7.38/7.39, but weakened versus the Thai baht to 13.0556/0969 from 13.0537/0740 previously. - Bernama
