Ringgit Seen Trading Cautiously Against US Dollar Next Week Amid Mixed Market Sentiment

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- The ringgit is expected to trade cautiously against the US dollar next week amid mixed market sentiment, with strong domestic factors continuing to support the local note, but weighed by global trade uncertainty.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit versus the dollar is expected to range between RM4.20 and RM4.22 next week.

“The advance gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the third quarter of this year came in higher than expected at 5.2 per cent versus street estimates of 3.9 per cent.

“At the same time, Budget 2026 also indicated the government’s commitment to maintaining fiscal discipline. These developments have sent the right signals to the market. So, all in all, it should be positive for the ringgit in the medium to long term,” he told Bernama.

While domestic factors seem supportive of the ringgit, external factors would continue to influence market sentiment, particularly with the ongoing US-China trade tension.

On a weekly basis, the ringgit weakened against the greenback, closing marginally lower at 4.2240/2275 compared with 4.2200/2260 previously.

The local note eased against a basket of major currencies and its ASEAN peers.

It depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.8218/8244 from 2.7618/7659, weakened versus the euro to 4.9421/9462 from 4.8838/8907, and was easier against the British pound at 5.6741/6788 from 5.6084/6164.

It also fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.2635/2665 compared with last Friday’s 3.2494/2543, weakened against the Thai baht to 12.9301/9471 from 12.8942/9184, and slipped against the Philippine peso to 7.26/7.27 from 7.24/7.26.

It traded flat versus the Indonesian rupiah at 254.6/254.9 from 254.6/255.1 previously.

-- BERNAMA