KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 - The ringgit started the day stronger against the United States dollar, buoyed by improved domestic market sentiment amid ongoing global developments.
At 8am, the local note stood at 4.2220/2430 versus the greenback, strengthening from yesterday’s close of 4.2305/2355.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said renewed trade tensions between the US and China had led to a weaker US dollar.
“The US Dollar Index (DXY) declined by 0.26 per cent to 98.793 points, as the escalating trade conflict is expected to reinforce the case for a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
“In light of this, the ringgit is likely to remain resilient, with the USD/MYR exchange rate expected to hover between RM4.22 and RM4.23,” he told Bernama.
The ringgit, however, traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies, except for the euro, which appreciated to 4.9165/9410 from yesterday’s close of 4.9213/9272. It softened against the British pound to 5.6579/6860 from 5.6469/6535 yesterday and declined vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.7957/8097 from 2.7948/7983.
In contrast, the ringgit trended higher against Asean currencies. The local note improved against the Thai baht to 12.9708/13.0425 from 12.9933/13.0151 at yesterday’s close, rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2585/2749 from 3.2648/2689 previously, gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 254.7/256.0 from 255.2/255.6, and appreciated against the Philippine peso to 7.27/7.31 from 7.29/7.30 previously.