Ringgit closes higher against US dollar

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended the week higher against the US dollar today despite the greenback’s resiliency which stayed strong amid fading hopes of an early US rate cut and strong United States (US) economic data, dealers said.

At 6 pm, the ringgit rose to 4.7595/7705 against the US dollar from Thursday's closing rate of 4.7705/7745.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local currency was mostly higher against the US dollar by about 0.14 per cent today, in tandem with the improvement in other regional currencies such as the Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar and the Philippine peso.

"However, issues surrounding the timing for a US rate cut and the anticipation of a forceful China’s economic stimulus continued to drive market sentiments,” he told Bernama.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said despite the continued resilience in US macroeconomic indicators, including a larger-than-expected drop in initial jobless claims and a rise in US 10-year yields to 4.15 per cent, the ringgit strengthened on the day.

"This strengthening (of the ringgit) was attributed to the Chinese New Year holiday demand, suggesting that the recent move in the currency was a bit of an overshoot, possibly influenced by the weaker readthrough on China's consumer price index data,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It gained vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1849/1925 from 3.2068/2100 at Thursday’s close, appreciated against the British pound to 6.0017/0156 from 6.0251/0302 previously and advanced versus the euro to 5.1241/1359 from 5.1445/1488.

The local note was also traded higher versus other Asean currencies.

The ringgit improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.5342/5429 versus 3.5471/5506 on Thursday and was also better against the Indonesian rupiah at 304.3/305.2 compared to 305.0/305.5 yesterday.

It climbed versus the Philippine peso to 8.51/8.55 from 8.53/8.54 and was higher versus the Thai baht to 13.2540/2902 from 13.3191/3362 previously. - Bernama