kuala lumpur:The Malaysian ringgit is expected to trade in a range with a downward bias against the US dollar next week as the dollar continues to receive support from the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on US interest rates, analysts say. said.
Stephen Innes, managing director at SPI Asset Management, said the dollar would remain strong into October unless U.S. economic data, particularly employment and sales data, weaken.
“Markets won’t get any joy from the Fed this year, as the Fed is likely to remain resolutely hawkish. That said, traders have been buying dollars for two straight months, so the usual There may be a respite towards the end of the month when the onslaught of US activity statistics begins, such as ,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Muamarat Malaysia Bank Chief Economist and Head of Social Finance Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid on Friday said Malaysia’s August consumer price index was 2% year-on-year, in line with consensus expectations. He said there was.
A disinflationary trend has become evident, with the inflation rate declining from the high level of 4.7% in August 2022, and in that sense, the 125 basis point hike in the overnight policy rate since May last year was not intended. It’s starting to move as expected. He doesn’t see any impact on inflation.
“Overall, markets remained nervous about the prospects for US interest rate hikes. The Fed’s latest forecast indicates that the US central bank is likely to stick high in the long run, potentially becoming dollar positive again.” It showed that there is.
“In that sense, the ringgit is expected to hover around RM4.67 to RM4.69 against the dollar next week,” he added.
Hong Leung Research said in a note that for the just-ended week, the US dollar appreciated 0.2% against the ringgit week-on-week, marking the third straight week of gains.
The ringgit was also mostly strong compared to the rest of the G10 countries and major Asian countries.
From Friday to Friday, the ringgit fell to 4.6865/6920 ringgit against the US dollar, from 4.6815/6845 ringgit the previous week.
However, the local currency traded higher against other major currencies.
Against the British pound, it rose to 5.7372/7439 from 5.8196/8233 on Friday, against the euro it rose from 4.9919/9951 to 4.9860/9918, and against the Japanese yen it rose from 3.1670/1693 to 3.1593/1632. Before.
The ringgit traded almost higher against its ASEAN peers.
The local currency rose to 3.4313/4359 against the Singapore dollar from 3.4350/4374 last week, and 13.0119/0322 against the Thai baht from 13.0681/0812 last Friday.
The exchange rate against the Indonesian rupiah improved slightly from 304.8/305.2 last week to 304.7/305.3, but weakened against the Philippine peso from 8.24/8.25 to 8.25/8.26. – Bernama
