Ringgit Extends Gain Against Greenback To Close At 4.37 Level

By Siti Noor Afera Abu

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The ringgit maintained its uptrend, climbing to the 4.37 level against the US dollar at Tuesday’s close as the greenback remained weak ahead of a key speech by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman at the Jackson Hole Symposium later this week.

At 6 pm, the ringgit strengthened to 4.3780/3850 against the US dollar compared with 4.3805/3850 at the close on Monday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid observed that the ringgit appreciated to RM4.3635 against the US dollar in the early morning trade before dipping later to around RM4.3748.

Despite this correction, he noted that the current exchange rate reflected the strongest level for the ringgit since February 2023.

“At present, the resistance level is situated at RM4.3000. If the current momentum of appreciation continues, the ringgit could be moving toward this level. The key event to monitor is the Jackson Hole Symposium, where (Fed chairman) Jerome Powell is expected to guide the Fed's next policy move.

"The likelihood of a rate cut at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting has increased significantly, with markets now pricing in a nearly certain 25 basis points cut in the Federal Funds Rate," Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama.

At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies, except for the Japanese yen, where it edged up to 2.9917/9967 from 2.9946/9979. It dropped vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8491/8568 from 4.8339/8388 and depreciated against the British pound to 5.6927/7018 from 5.6784/6843 previously.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against ASEAN currencies.

The local note weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.3466/3522 from 3.3424/3461 at Monday’s close and was weaker against the Philippine peso at 7.74/7.75 from 7.73/7.74. It also fell versus the Indonesian rupiah to 283.5/284.2 from 281.6/282.1 and slipped vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 12.7982/8254 from 12.7126/7308 previously.

-- BERNAMA