Ringgit Opens Higher As Tomorrow's FOMC Meeting Pressures Greenback 

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened firmer against the US dollar this morning, carried by last week’s positive momentum as the greenback continued to weaken ahead of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting starting tomorrow.

At 8 am, the local currency traded at 4.1035/1245 against the greenback compared with 4.1105/1140 at last Friday’s closing.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders and investors have been expecting a 25 basis points cut, as the US central bank is expected to focus on promoting growth amid visible signs of a weaker growth outlook.

“On that note, ringgit is expected to remain well supported, with the US dollar-ringgit is likely to range between RM4.11 and RM4.12,” he told Bernama.

The ringgit hit its highest level in four years and five months last Thursday when it was traded at 4.1115/1165 versus the greenback, beating the previous high last seen on June 16, 2021, when the ringgit closed at 4.1155.

At the opening, the ringgit also strengthened against major currencies.

It climbed versus the British pound to  5.4671/4951 from 5.4859/4905 at last Friday’s close, strengthened against the euro to 4.7769/8013 from 4.7912/7953, and edged up vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.6426/6563 from 2.6536/6561.

The local note traded mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.

It gained versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1663/1827 from 3.1741/1773 at last Friday’s close and was marginally higher against the Philippine peso at 6.96/7.00 from 6.97/6.98.

It was also higher vis-à-vis the Thai baht, at 12.8403/9133 from 12.9054/9221 previously, but was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah, at 246.4/247.8 from 246.8/247.2 previously.

-- BERNAMA