Ringgit strengthens ahead of BNM’s Monetary Policy Committee decision, with the OPR expected unchanged at 2.75% amid US Fed rate speculation.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar on Thursday as investors awaited Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) later today.
At 8 am, the local currency rose to 4.0385/0455 against the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.0435/0475.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the focus today would be on the MPC’s OPR decision, with the central bank widely expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at 2.75 per cent.
Meanwhile, Mohd Afzanizam said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.12 per cent to 99.555 points ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data due on Friday.
He said market attention in recent days had centred on Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Kevin Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium last Friday, with his remarks on elevated inflation interpreted as a signal that a rate hike could be on the table at the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting in mid-September.
“This has led to a correction in the value of the ringgit against the US dollar,” he added.
As such, Mohd Afzanizam expects the ringgit to improve slightly today, although it is likely to remain in a narrow trading range.
Against a basket of major currencies, the ringgit strengthened against the British pound to 5.4443/4537 from Wednesday’s 5.4527/4581 and edged up against the euro to 4.6782/6863 from 4.6787/6834.
However, the local note weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.5411/5456 from 2.5294/5321.
The ringgit traded mixed against regional currencies.
It edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 227.3/227.8 from 227.6/227.9 and rose against the Philippine peso to 6.45/6.47 from 6.46/6.47 at Wednesday’s close.
However, it declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.1764/1822 from 3.1739/1773 and fell against the Thai baht to 12.1660/1926 from Wednesday’s close of 12.1321/1488.
