KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended its gains against the US dollar on Thursday, buoyed by comments from US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell highlighting uncertainty over the inflationary impact of tariffs.
At 8 am, the local note strengthened to 4.2255/2475 against the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.2335/2405.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the prospect of a US rate cut remains intact, as downside risks to growth continue to mount amid weak sentiment among consumers and businesses.
“On that note, markets are still leaning towards the Fed increasing policy accommodation in the second half of the year, with two rate cuts now appearing to be the base case,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Afzanizam also noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.18 per cent to 97.679 points, suggesting the dollar-ringgit exchange rate is likely to hover between 4.22 and 4.23 today.
However, the ringgit opened lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.9161/9315 from 2.9070/9120, fell versus the British pound to 5.7843/8144 from 5.7631/7726, and declined against the euro to 4.9367/9624 from 4.9113/9194.
The ringgit was mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It advanced vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 7.45/7.49 from 7.46/7.48, and was little changed against the Indonesian rupiah at 259.2/260.6 from 259.7/260.2.
Meanwhile, it slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.3092/3269 from 3.3061/3121, and eased against the Thai baht to 12.9899/13.0648 from 12.9584/9858.
