Ringgit Opens Flat Against USD

By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif and Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened flat versus the US dollar amidst the high anticipation of an interest rate cut by the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed), according to an analyst.

At 8 am, the ringgit remained unchanged at 4.3470/3505 against the greenback from 4.3470/3505 at the close on Monday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly indicated that a quarter-point cut is likely to happen during the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting on Sept 17-18.

"The ringgit’s trajectory remains positive as Malaysia’s monetary policy is expected to remain status quo, suggesting that the interest rate differential between the US Fed Fund Rate and Malaysia’s overnight policy rate will likely narrow in the months to come.

“At the same time, there could be some profit-taking activities along the way as traders might want to take some of the gains off the table," he told Bernama.

Hence, Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit is expected to move towards the immediate support level of RM4.3000 in the near term.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was mostly higher versus a basket of major currencies.

The local currency strengthened against the Japanese yen to 3.0073/0099 from 3.0188/0214 at the close on Monday and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8526/8565 from 4.8565/8604 yesterday, but inched down against the British pound to 5.7333/7379 from 5.7324/7370 previously.

At the same time, the local note was traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

The ringgit appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3333/3365 from 3.3367/3396 on Monday and rose versus the Thai baht to 12.7815/8009 from 12.7891/8050 yesterday, but remained unchanged against the Philippines’ peso and the Indonesian rupiah at 7.75/7.77 and 281.5/281.8, respectively.

-- BERNAMA