Ringgit opens firmer against greenback ahead of GDP announcement

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened firmer against the US dollar today ahead of the fourth quarter (4Q) 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) announcement by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) tomorrow, an analyst said.

At 9 am, the ringgit rose marginally to 4.7800/7850 against the greenback compared to Wednesday's close of 4.7845/7885.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that Malaysia’s 4Q 2023 GDP is likely to reach 3.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

"Investors are looking for more clues on how BNM would assess the economy for 2024 and how this would translate into monetary policies,” he told Bernama.

He also noted that the ringgit continued to remain in the oversold condition and has been flirting around its immediate resistance level of 4.79 to the US dollar.

"Perhaps, there could be consolidation in the ringgit today,” he added.

The ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

The local note weakened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.1812/1847 from 3.1757/1786 at Wednesday’s close, fell against the British pound to 6.0089/0152 from 5.9983/6.0033, and slid versus the euro to 5.1309/1362 from 5.1185/1227 previously.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed versus other Asean currencies.

It was lower versus the Thai baht at 13.2483/2677 compared to 13.2366/2535 at yesterday’s close, and declined versus the Singapore dollar to 3.5465/5505 compared to 3.5441/5473 on Wednesday.

The local note was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 8.52/8.54 yesterday and was flat vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah at 306.3/306.8 from 306.5/307.0 previously. - Bernama