RINGGIT GAINS GROUND VS USD AMIDST IMPROVED SENTIMENT

By Rosemarie Khoo

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- The ringgit continued to appreciate against the US dollar today, backed by improved sentiments and demand for the local note, analysts said. 

At 6 pm, the ringgit traded firmer at 4.6700/6730 against the US dollar from Thursday's close of 4.6855/6895.

During the trading day, the ringgit touched an intraday high of RM4.6630 versus the greenback and retreated to RM4.6757 later in the afternoon. 

Year-to-date, the ringgit stands out as the second best-performing currency in the Asian region, experiencing a modest depreciation of 1.56 per cent against the US dollar, following closely behind the Indian rupee which eased by 0.37 per cent against the greenback.

The Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar each saw a 1.70 per cent decline, while the Indonesian rupiah slipped by 4.57 per cent and the Philippine peso slid by 5.15 per cent versus the US dollar.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the lower-than-expected US Consumer Price Index (CPI) which came in at 3.0 per cent (against the consensus estimate of 3.1 per cent) suggested that the disinflationary trend is proceeding well.

“Plus, the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell, in his testimony to the US Congress, suggested that the interest rate cut could happen, and that the inflation rate doesn't need to go lower than two per cent before they can commence the monetary easing decision.

“It seems that the September timeline would be the probable time for the Fed to start reversing its restrictive stance. This has certainly helped to improve the value of ringgit,” Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama. 

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

It had weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.9338/9359 from Thursday’s close of 2.9003/9030, slid against the euro to 5.0838/0870 from 5.0819/0862 yesterday, and depreciated against the British pound to 6.0481/0520 from 6.0335/0387 previously.

However, it traded mostly firmer against ASEAN currencies, edging up against the Singapore dollar to 3.4768/4793 from 3.4774/4807 yesterday, rising against the Philippines’ peso to 8.00/8.00 from 8.03/8.05 on Thursday and appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.9023/9160 from 12.9184/9341 previously.

The local unit had marginally declined against the Indonesian rupiah to 289.3/289.7 from 289.2/289.7 yesterday.

-- BERNAMA