Holiday Calm Keeps Ringgit Flat At Opening

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened flat against the US dollar today, weighed down by a lack of catalysts during the holiday-shortened week, an analyst said.  

At 8 am, the ringgit remained unchanged at 4.4680/4750 against the greenback, matching last Friday's close.  

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the holiday period is likely to keep currency markets subdued, with sentiment remaining focused on the US economy as concerns over the debt limit gain traction.  

He noted that the US Treasury Secretary has warned the government could reach its borrowing limit by mid-January.  

“The recent drama over a possible government shutdown, coupled with hawkish remarks from the new US president Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk, suggests it may not be a walk-in-the-park situation in January when the new president is inaugurated on Jan 20.

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“On that note, the ringgit is likely to trade within a range today,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.  

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against other major currencies.  

It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.8296/8343 from last Friday’s close of 2.8300/8346 but fell against the British pound to 5.6199/6287 from 5.5904/5991 and weakened versus the euro to 4.6601/6674 compared with 4.6489/6574 previously.  

The local note saw mixed performance against ASEAN currencies.  

It slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.2899/2955 from 3.2846/2900 and fell against the Thai baht to 13.1196/1583 from 13.1023/1289.

However, it strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 275.1/275.7 from 275.4/276.1 and was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 7.72/7.74.  

-- BERNAMA