KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended the week on an upbeat note ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut by the United States next week.
At 6 pm, the local note breached the 4.20 level against the US dollar, bouncing to 4.1975/2080 from Thursday’s close of 4.2185/2240.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said the anticipation over the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) upcoming interest rate decision lifted the ringgit.
"The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members will meet on Sept 16-17 and are expected to deliver a 25 basis points (bps) cut,” he told Bernama.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the ringgit strengthened today as the US dollar slipped on the back of weaker US labour signals.
"Markets shrugged off the 0.3 per cent US inflation uptick (for August) and instead zeroed in on the deteriorating jobs data. A jump in (US) jobless claims (last week) pushed interest rate-cut expectations higher, with traders now pricing in 72 bps of Fed easing for the rest of 2025, up from 68 bps before the release,” he added.
At the close, the ringgit was firmer against a basket of major currencies.
It gained against the euro to 4.9203/9326 from 4.9293/9357, climbed up versus the yen to 2.8373/8446 from 2.8509/8548, and advanced vis-à-vis the pound to 5.6864/7006 from 5.6954/7028 yesterday.
The local note was also mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.
It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2719/2803 from 3.2829/2874, rose against the baht to 13.2317/2703 from 13.2432/2663, and edged up against the peso to 7.35/7.37 from 7.37/7.39 previously.
However, the ringgit eased marginally vis-à-vis the rupiah to 256.3/257.0 from 256.2/256.7. - Bernama
