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THE ringgit opened almost unchanged against the US dollar this morning as investors awaited key lending rate decisions both in Malaysia and the United States.
Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to announce its decision on the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) tomorrow, while markets in the US are anticipating the Federal Reserve’s next move on the Federal Funds Rate (FFR) next month.
At 8 a.m., the ringgit stood at 4.1945/2050 against the greenback, little changed from Tuesday’s close of 4.1950/1985.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the market expects the MPC to maintain the OPR, while the Fed is likely to proceed with further rate cuts – a scenario that would narrow the gap between the two benchmark rates.
“That, coupled with ongoing fiscal reforms in Malaysia, is credit-positive for the country. More foreign funds would likely be attracted to Malaysian Government Securities and Government Investment Issues,” he told Bernama.
“So far, the bid-to-cover ratio for government bonds has been healthy at 2.6 times for the first 10 months of this year, compared with the 2022–2024 average of 2.2 times,” he added.
On the US dollar, Mohd Afzanizam noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to climb towards the 100-point mark as the Washington government shutdown entered its 35th day.
“It appears that the Fed should continue cutting interest rates, but mixed views among its members have challenged that outlook. This has lent support to the US dollar in the immediate term,” he said, adding that the USD/MYR pair is expected to trade within a narrow range of RM4.19 to RM4.20 today.
At the opening, the ringgit mostly traded higher against major currencies. It rose against the British pound to 5.4612/4749 from 5.4795/4841 on Tuesday, and strengthened against the euro to 4.8174/8294 from 4.8238/8279. However, it slipped slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.7322/7392 from 2.7331/7355.
The local note also advanced against regional currencies, strengthening against the Singapore dollar to 3.2075/2158 from 3.2131/2160, and firming against the Thai baht to 12.8701/9118 from 12.8859/9026. It remained largely steady against the Indonesian rupiah at 251.0/251.8 and the Philippine peso at 7.16/7.19. - November 5, 2025