Ringgit continues to appreciate against US dollar, closes at 4.63 level 

By Karina Imran

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- The ringgit continued to strengthen against the US dollar and closed at the 4.63 level today.

It also emerged as the best-performing currency in the Asian market, said an analyst. 

At 6 pm, the ringgit increased by 200 basis points to 4.6350/6375 against the greenback from last week’s closing of 4.6550/6605.

In the Asian market, the ringgit gained 0.46 per cent against the US dollar, followed by the South Korean won (0.10 per cent) and the Indonesian rupiah (0.06 per cent). 

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit performed favourably against the greenback as the markets seem to have fully priced in for the eventual interest rate cut in the United States (US).

“Based on the interest rate futures, the odds for the rate cut in September have reached 107.4 per cent, suggesting that the rate cut is almost certain based on the market expectation,” he told Bernama. 

The ringgit reached a high of RM4.6298 against the US dollar at midday before retreating to RM4.6350, said Mohd Afzanizam, adding that the support level was located at RM4.6140. 

Meanwhile, the local note traded firmer against a basket of major currencies.

The ringgit appreciated against the British pound to 5.9472/9504 from 5.9901/9971 at last Friday’s (July 26) close, increased vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0225/0252 from 5.0530/0590, and strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 3.0158/0176 versus 3.0176/0214 previously.

Against ASEAN currencies, it rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 284.6/284.9 from 285.5/286.0 at last Friday’s close and was up against the Singapore dollar to 3.4499/4521 from 3.4641/4684.

The local note inched up against the Philippine peso to 7.92/7.93 from 7.97/7.99 last Friday and advanced vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.8947/9063 from 12.9069/9268 previously.

-- BERNAMA