Ringgit Ends Higher Versus US Dollar, Regional Peers

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- The ringgit closed higher against the US dollar and its regional peers amidst cautious sentiments, after the United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes revealed that almost all participants supported keeping the interest rate unchanged.

At 6 pm, the local note rose to 4.2235/2275 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.2250/2290.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said FOMC minutes last night showed that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is maintaining its current stance as it continues to learn about the impact of the tariff shocks on inflation. 

“But the dissenting views by two FOMC members who opted for a 25 basis points cut in the last meeting suggest that the impact from the tariff hike on inflation is expected to be transitory.

“We shall see whether these views would reverberate among the FOMC members as they learn from the incoming data,” he told Bernama, adding that market players will closely monitor the policy signals from the Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium tomorrow.

At the close, the ringgit settled mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It rose versus the British pound to 5.6899/6953 from 5.7033/7087 on Wednesday and inched up vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8595/8626 from 2.8648/8677 yesterday, but dropped against the euro to 4.9226/9263 from 4.9196/9242 previously.

At the same time, the local note traded higher against other ASEAN currencies.

It strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2819/2853 from 3.2864/2898 at Wednesday’s close, gained against the Thai baht to 12.9460/9638 from 12.9756/9935 yesterday, edged up vis-à-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 259.2/259.6 from 259.6/260.0 and inched up against the Philippine peso to 7.40/7.42 from 7.41/7.42 yesterday.

-- BERNAMA