KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar as the market remained cautious ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes on Thursday, said an analyst.
At 8am, the ringgit appreciated to 4.4250/4450 versus the greenback compared to yesterday’s close of 4.4300/4360.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the global economic policy uncertainties, especially involving the United States government’s import tariff policies and the fragility of the ceasefire arrangement in Gaza, could easily tilt the scale of market sentiments.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) remained stuck at around 106 points as the US markets closed for a public holiday, said Afzanizam.
“As such, we foresee the currency market remaining cautious ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes on Thursday,” he told Bernama today.
On another note, he said that the Japanese yen continued to perform favourably against the US dollar, rising to 151.48 yen as Japan’s gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter of 2024 came in at 2.8%, higher than the 1% consensus estimate.
“The Bank of Japan raised its policy rates by 25 basis points to 0.50% on Jan 24, the highest in 17 years,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated versus the euro to 4.6396/6606 from 4.6413/6476 at yesterday’s close, but fell against the British pound to 5.5848/6100 from 5.5765/5840 yesterday and slipped vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.9216/9350 from 2.9179/9221 previously.
However, the local note traded higher against Asean currencies.
The ringgit increased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2985/3139 from 3.3025/3072 at market close yesterday and rose versus the Thai baht to 13.1263/1958 from 13.1349/1593.
It also strengthened vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 272.6/274.0 from 272.9/273.4 at Monday’s close and advanced against the Philippine peso to 7.62/7.66 from 7.63/7.65 previously. – February 18, 2025