KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed higher on Thursday, remaining steady at the 4.18 level after Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) maintained the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent during its final Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2025.
At 6 pm, the ringgit climbed 70 percentage-in-points (pip) to 4.1820/1845 against the US dollar, improving from Wednesday’s close of 4.1890/1925.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said MPC’s decision to keep the OPR steady at 2.75 per cent appears to be ringgit-positive.
"It appears that BNM is likely to maintain the current stance in the foreseeable future as the inflation rate is expected to remain moderate,” he told Bernama.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said BNM’s decision to maintain the OPR reinforces policy stability and reflects confidence in the resilience of domestic demand amid contained inflation pressures.
"This steady policy stance helps anchor rate expectations and supports currency stability at a time when external conditions remain fluid,” he said.
Mohd Sedek noted that the ringgit closed stronger against the US dollar in line with a broader appreciation across most Asian currencies.
"We find that the US dollar rally has started to look increasingly tired, with positioning now more susceptible to pullbacks as investors reassess the sustainability of its earlier momentum,” he said.
At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against most major currencies.
It rose against the yen to 2.7202/7220 from 2.7254/7279 at Wednesday’s close; however, it shed against the British pound to 5.4696/4729 from 5.4612/4658 and down versus the euro to 4.8143/8172 from 4.8106/8147 previously.
The local note was traded mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.2034/2055 from 3.2055/2085 at Wednesday’s close, it went up against the Indonesian rupiah to 250.3/250.6 from 250.5/250.9 and climbed against the Philippine peso to 7.09/7.10 from 7.12/7.13 previously.
However, the ringgit dwindled vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.9178/9311 from 12.8730/8893 yesterday. - Bernama
