The ringgit appreciated further against the US dollar, extending gains for a seventh day following the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its gains for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday, opening higher against the US dollar.
An analyst attributed this movement to the much-anticipated 25 basis point interest rate cut announced by the US Federal Reserve.
At 8 am, the local currency appreciated to 4.1835/2050 against the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.1850/1900.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the Fed’s decision comes with a significant caveat.
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He explained that US monetary policy is not on a preset course, with views remaining polarised among Federal Open Market Committee members.
The economist further stated that the interest rate gap between the US federal funds rate and Malaysia’s overnight policy rate will not narrow significantly in the near term.
Mohd Afzanizam added that US dollar returns may continue to appear attractive to investors to some degree.
He suggested the ringgit could experience some profit-taking activity after staging significant gains once the dollar-ringgit pair passed the psychological RM4.20 level.
The local unit was expected to trade within a range of RM4.19 to RM4.20 for the day.
At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against a majority of other major global currencies.
It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.7383/7525 from 2.7493/7528 at Wednesday’s close.
The local note strengthened against the British pound to 5.5189/5472 from 5.5326/5392 and climbed versus the euro to 4.8533/8782 from 4.8722/8780.
The ringgit also traded mostly higher against its ASEAN counterpart currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.2245/2416 from 3.2324/2365 at Wednesday’s close.
The currency inched up vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 251.7/253.1 from 251.8/252.2.
The ringgit gained against the Thai baht to 12.9096/9840 from 12.9651/9858.
It was almost flat against the Philippine peso at 7.12/7.16 from 7.12/7.14 previously. – Bernama
