KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to continue trading within a tight range with an upward bias this week, as investors reassess the trading trend following the US interest rate cuts.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said that this week is relatively light on US top-tier economic data, with the US manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) readings being one of the real macro waypoints.
Nevertheless, the release of the US second-quarter (2Q) of 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) data this week will be closely watched for signs of economic momentum and its potential implications on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy path.
“Market compass may also point towards Fed speakers. A string of officials will speak, and if their tone tilts more dovish than Fed chair Jerome Powell’s careful script, the dollar could easily moderate again and the ringgit strengthen again,” he told Bernama.
In the meantime, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid opined that emerging market currencies, including the ringgit, could gain further traction if traders and investors sensed that the Fed could be behind the curve.
“For now, it seems that they are on track in steering the monetary policy,” he noted, adding that the ringgit might stay above 4.20 per dollar in the immediate term.
On a weekly basis, the ringgit ended the week easier against the greenback, closing at 4.2040/2115 versus 4.1975/2080 previously.
The local note traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8419/8471 from 2.8373/8446 in the previous week and weakened versus the euro to 4.9447/9536 from 4.9203/9326, but gained against the British pound to 5.6775/6876 from 5.6864/7006.
However, the ringgit was mixed against its Asean peers.
It was slightly lower against the Singapore dollar to 3.2744/2805 from 3.2719/2803 at the end of last week, and slipped against the Philippine peso to 7.36/7.38 from 7.35/7.37.
The local unit rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 253.2/253.8 from 256.3/257.0 and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.1973/2271 from 13.2317/2703 in the previous week.
