Ringgit Up Vs USD On Trump's Tariff Hike Plan

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- The ringgit was marginally higher against the US dollar on Wednesday as the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to remain elevated after the United States (US) presidential election candidate, Donald Trump revealed his plan to raise import tariffs to protect and grow the US economy.

At 8.07 am, the ringgit edged up to 4.3050/3180 against the greenback, from yesterday’s close of 4.3080/3120.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the DXY is currently hovering around 103.25 points, compared to 100.76 points a month ago.

He also said that the ringgit could stay weak in the near term based on the global trend.

“Currently, the US dollar-ringgit is hovering quite close to its immediate resistance level of RM4.3259.

“We opine that the ringgit could continue to trade sideways during the day as traders look to the Budget 2025 presentation this Friday for more clues on economic reform measures, especially in areas relating to fiscal consolidation,” he told Bernama.

At the opening, the ringgit strengthened against a basket of major currencies.

It was traded higher versus the euro at 4.6851/6993 compared to Tuesday’s close of 4.7013/7057, inched up against the British pound to 5.6223/6393 from 5.6357/6410 yesterday and rose vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8864/8953 from 2.8928/8957 previously.

Simultaneously, the local note was also traded mostly higher against ASEAN currencies.

It appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.9116/9580 from 12.9121/9303 on Tuesday, increased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2853/2954 from yesterday’s closing of 3.2928/2961 and improved against the Indonesian rupiah to 276.1/277.1 from 276.3/276.7 previously.

However, the ringgit was almost unchanged against the Philippines’ peso at 7.44/7.47 from 7.44/7.46 at yesterday’s close.

-- BERNAMA